Comparing the appetitive learning performance of six European honeybee subspecies in a common apiary
| Autor: | Marina D. Meixner, Ricarda Scheiner, Kayeong Lim, Martin S Gabel |
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| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: |
proboscis extension response
Genetic diversity Apiary biology Range (biology) Science Appetitive learning Apis mellifera Zoology adaptation genetic diversity Subspecies biology.organism_classification Article Associative learning Proboscis (genus) sucrose responsiveness Habitat Insect Science ddc:570 olfactory learning Olfactory Learning Adaptation |
| Zdroj: | Insects Volume 12 Issue 9 Insects, Vol 12, Iss 768, p 768 (2021) |
| DOI: | 10.1101/2021.07.14.452344 |
| Popis: | Simple Summary This study is the first to compare the associative learning performance of six honeybee subspecies from different European regions in a common apiary. We quantified sucrose responsiveness prior to appetitive olfactory proboscis extension learning to dissociate effects of motivation and cognition. Our results show that Apis mellifera iberiensis displayed a significantly poorer learning performance compared to other Apis subspecies from across Europe, which did not differ from each other. Possible causes are discussed. Abstract The Western honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) is one of the most widespread insects with numerous subspecies in its native range. How far adaptation to local habitats has affected the cognitive skills of the different subspecies is an intriguing question that we investigate in this study. Naturally mated queens of the following five subspecies from different parts of Europe were transferred to Southern Germany: A. m. iberiensis from Portugal, A. m. mellifera from Belgium, A. m. macedonica from Greece, A. m. ligustica from Italy, and A. m. ruttneri from Malta. We also included the local subspecies A. m. carnica in our study. New colonies were built up in a common apiary where the respective queens were introduced. Worker offspring from the different subspecies were compared in classical olfactory learning performance using the proboscis extension response. Prior to conditioning, we measured individual sucrose responsiveness to investigate whether possible differences in learning performances were due to differential responsiveness to the sugar water reward. Most subspecies did not differ in their appetitive learning performance. However, foragers of the Iberian honeybee, A. m. iberiensis, performed significantly more poorly, despite having a similar sucrose responsiveness. We discuss possible causes for the poor performance of the Iberian honeybees, which may have been shaped by adaptation to the local habitat. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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