Modulation of alarm pheromone perception in the honey bee: evidence for division of labor based on hormonall regulated response thresholds

1987 ◽  
Vol 160 (5) ◽  
pp. 613-619 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gene E. Robinson
Keyword(s):  
Division Of Labor ◽  
Honey Bee ◽  
Alarm Pheromone ◽  
Response Thresholds ◽  
Pheromone Perception

How to Make a Superorganism

2020 ◽  
pp. 148-170
Author(s):  
Robert E. Page
Keyword(s):  
Division Of Labor ◽  
Honey Bee ◽  
Social Bees ◽  
Genome Differentiation ◽  
The Social ◽  
Survival And Reproduction ◽  
Response Thresholds ◽  
Reproductive Division Of Labor ◽  
Colony Survival ◽  
Reproductive Division

Insect superorganisms are characterized by a reproductive division of labor (drones, queens, and workers) and a complex division of labor among the non-reproductive individuals, the workers. In the social bees that have attained the highest degrees of sociality, at or approaching superorganism status, males don’t survive mating and are only present as reproductive sperm sequestered in the queen. Queens and workers are anatomically differentiated but derived from the same genome. Differentiation is a consequence of differential feeding of developing larvae by the workers. In the honey bee, worker nurse bees manipulate the developing larvae, forcing them into their reproductive roles. The adult workers self-organize into an ordered society, performing all of the functions necessary for colony survival and reproduction. There are no task masters or forewomen directing the workforce. Instead, every individual makes local decisions about their behavior based on their response thresholds to stimuli in their environment.

Heritabilities of honey-bee alarm pheromone production

1987 ◽  
Vol 78 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. M. Collins ◽  
M. A. Brown ◽  
T. E. Rinderer ◽  
J. R. Harbo ◽  
K. W. Tucker
Keyword(s):  
Honey Bee ◽  
Alarm Pheromone ◽  
Pheromone Production

scholarly journals Cooperative defence operates by social modulation of biogenic amine levels in the honey bee brain

2018 ◽  
Vol 285 (1871) ◽  
pp. 20172653 ◽  
Author(s):  
Morgane Nouvian ◽  
Souvik Mandal ◽  
Charlène Jamme ◽  
Charles Claudianos ◽  
Patrizia d'Ettorre ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Honey Bee ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
Alarm Pheromone ◽  
Neural Mechanism ◽  
Isoamyl Acetate ◽  
Neural Mechanisms ◽  
Response Threshold ◽  
Defensive Behaviour ◽  
Personal Risk ◽  
Main Component

The defence of a society often requires that some specialized members coordinate to repel a threat at personal risk. This is especially true for honey bee guards, which defend the hive and may sacrifice their lives upon stinging. Central to this cooperative defensive response is the sting alarm pheromone, which has isoamyl acetate (IAA) as its main component. Although this defensive behaviour has been well described, the neural mechanisms triggered by IAA to coordinate stinging have long remained unknown. Here we show that IAA upregulates brain levels of serotonin and dopamine, thereby increasing the likelihood of an individual bee to attack and sting. Pharmacological enhancement of the levels of both amines induces higher defensive responsiveness, while decreasing them via antagonists decreases stinging. Our results thus uncover the neural mechanism by which an alarm pheromone recruits individuals to attack and repel a threat, and suggest that the alarm pheromone of honey bees acts on their response threshold rather than as a direct trigger.

Evolutionary Genetics of Division of Labor in Colonies of the Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)

1991 ◽  
Vol 138 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas W. Calderone ◽  
Robert E. Page,
Keyword(s):  
Apis Mellifera ◽  
Division Of Labor ◽  
Honey Bee ◽  
Evolutionary Genetics
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