Nectar profitability, not empty honey stores, stimulate recruitment and foraging in Melipona scutellaris (Apidae, Meliponini)
| Autor: | Friedrich G. Barth, Camila Maia-Silva, Geovan Figueirêdo de Sá Filho, Dirk Louis P. Schorkopf, Martina Schorkopf, Michael Hrncir |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2016 |
| Předmět: |
0106 biological sciences
0301 basic medicine Plant Nectar Physiology Foraging Biology 010603 evolutionary biology 01 natural sciences 03 medical and health sciences Behavioral Neuroscience Animals Nectar Melipona scutellaris Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics Bumblebee communication Ecology fungi food and beverages Feeding Behavior Honey Honey bee Bees Mass provisioning Brood 030104 developmental biology behavior and behavior mechanisms Animal Science and Zoology Food Deprivation |
| Zdroj: | Journal of Comparative Physiology A. 202:709-722 |
| ISSN: | 1432-1351 0340-7594 |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s00359-016-1102-3 |
| Popis: | In stingless bees (Meliponini) like in many other eusocial insect colonies food hoarding plays an important role in colony survival. However, very little is known on how Meliponini, a taxon restricted to tropical and subtropical regions, respond to different store conditions. We studied the impact of honey removal on nectar foraging activity and recruitment behaviour in Melipona scutellaris and compared our results with studies of the honey bee Apis mellifera. As expected, foraging activity increased significantly during abundance of artificial nectar and when increasing its profitability. Foraging activity on colony level could thereby frequently increase by an order of magnitude. Intriguingly, however, poor honey store conditions did not induce increased nectar foraging or recruitment activity. We discuss possible reasons explaining why increasing recruitment and foraging activity are not used by meliponines to compensate for poor food conditions in the nest. Among these are meliponine specific adaptations to climatic and environmental conditions, as well as physiology and brood rearing, such as mass provisioning of the brood. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
| Externí odkaz: |
|
Full text from SpringerLink