Lack of physical policing and fertility cues in egg-laying workers of the ant Camponotus floridanus

2007 ◽  
Vol 74 (5) ◽  
pp. 1171-1180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annett Endler ◽  
Bert Hölldobler ◽  
Jürgen Liebig
Keyword(s):  
Egg Laying ◽  
Camponotus Floridanus ◽  
Laying Workers

The laying of male eggs by bumble bee queens: an experimental reappraisal and a new hypothesis

1990 ◽  
Vol 68 (3) ◽  
pp. 493-497 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. C. Plowright ◽  
C. M. S. Plowright
Keyword(s):  
Egg Production ◽  
Egg Laying ◽  
Bumble Bee ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
Laying Performance ◽  
Laying Workers ◽  
New Hypothesis

The hypothesis that proximal factors associated with high worker density in a bumble bee (Bombus terricola) colony trigger laying of male eggs by the queen was examined in a series of four experiments. Neither the age of workers, the presence or absence of laying workers, nor the amount of pollen available to the colony affected the date of first male egg laying. Moreover, queens that had begun laying male eggs did not revert to laying female eggs after being removed from their colonies and placed in isolation. Instead, onset of male egg production appeared to be associated with the date of attainment of a critical worker/larva ratio in the colony. Functional considerations lead to the new hypothesis that queens monitor their egg-laying performance and begin to lay male eggs when it can be predicted that their female eggs will be raised as young queens.

THE ROLE OF NUTRITION AND TEMPERATURE IN THE OVARIAN DEVELOPMENT OF THE WORKER HONEY BEE (APIS MELLIFERA)

1998 ◽  
Vol 130 (6) ◽  
pp. 883-891 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huarong Lin ◽  
Mark L. Winston
Keyword(s):  
Apis Mellifera ◽  
Honey Bee ◽  
Nutritive Value ◽  
Royal Jelly ◽  
Ovarian Development ◽  
Egg Laying ◽  
Brood Chamber ◽  
Laying Workers

AbstractQueenless, caged, newly emerged worker bees (Apis mellifera L.) were fed honey, 22 and 40% pollen in honey, and 22 and 40% royal jelly in honey for 14 days. Workers fed royal jelly, pollen, and honey had large, medium, and small ovaries, respectively. Royal jelly had higher nutritive value for workers’ ovarian development than did pollen, possibly because royal jelly is predigested by nurse bees and easily used by adult and larval bees. These results suggest that nurse bees could mediate workers’ ovarian development in colonies via trophallactic exchange of royal jelly. Six levels of royal jelly in honey, 0, 20, 40, 60, 80, and 100% (royal jelly without honey), were tested for their effects on workers’ ovarian development and mortality for 10 days. High levels of royal jelly increased ovarian development, but also increased worker mortality. All caged bees treated with 100% royal jelly died within 3 days. When workers were incubated at 20, 27, and 34 °C for 10 days, only bees at 34 °C developed ovaries. These findings suggest that nurse bees functioning as units which digest pollen and produce royal jelly may feed some potentially egg-laying workers in a brood chamber with royal jelly when a queen is lost in a colony. Feeding workers a diet of 50% royal jelly in honey and incubating at 34 °C for 10 days is recommended for tests of ovarian development.

Honeybee egg-laying workers mimic a queen signal

2003 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Katzav-Gozansky ◽  
V. Soroker ◽  
W. Francke ◽  
A. Hefetz
Keyword(s):  
Egg Laying ◽  
Queen Signal ◽  
Laying Workers

scholarly journals Expression of Sir2, Hdac1 and Ash2 in Honey Bee (Apis Mellifera L.) Queens and Workers

2013 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cui Guan ◽  
Zhi Jiang Zeng ◽  
Zi Long Wang ◽  
Wei Yu Yan ◽  
Qi Zhong Pan
Keyword(s):  
Apis Mellifera ◽  
Honey Bee ◽  
Histone Methylation ◽  
Developmental Stages ◽  
Egg Laying ◽  
Expression Level ◽  
Relative Expression Level ◽  
Laying Workers ◽  
Genetic Makeup ◽  
Histone Methylation And Acetylation

Summary The queen and worker bees have the same genetic makeup. However, the queen differs dramatically from the workers in anatomy, physiology, behavior, and lifespan. Three genes (sir2, ash2, and hdac1) have been shown to be associated with histone methylation and acetylation as well as longevity in worms and flies. The relative expression level of these genes was examined in the heads of queens and workers at different developmental stages. The sir2, ash2, and hdac1 expression levels in newly emerged queens, egg-laying queens, and egg-laying workers were significantly higher than those in newly emerged workers, nurses, and foragers. We conclude that these genes are possibly “queen-like” genes.

Experimental increase in female mass during the fertile phase leads to enhanced extra-pair paternity in pied flycatchers Ficedula hypoleuca

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mireia Plaza ◽  
Alejandro Cantarero ◽  
Juan Moreno
Keyword(s):  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Ficedula Hypoleuca ◽  
Egg Laying ◽  
Female Dominance ◽  
Laying Date ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Wing Loading ◽  
Potential Fecundity ◽  
Fertile Phase ◽  
Extra Pair Paternity

Female mass in most altricial birds reaches its maximum during breeding at egg-laying, which coincides temporally with the fertile phase when extra-pair paternity (EPP) is determined. Higher mass at laying may have two different effects on EPP intensity. On the one hand, it would lead to increased wing loading (body mass/wing area), which may impair flight efficiency and thereby reduce female’s capacity to resist unwanted extra-pair male approaches (sexual conflict hypothesis). On the other hand, it would enhance female condition, favouring her capacity to evade mate-guarding and to search for extra-pair mates (female choice hypothesis). In both cases, higher female mass at laying may lead to enhanced EPP. To test this prediction, we reduced nest building effort by adding a completely constructed nest in an experimental group of female pied flycatchers (Ficedula hypoleuca). Our treatment caused an increase in mass and thereby wing loading and this was translated into a significantly higher EPP in the manipulated group compared with the control group as expected. There was also a significant negative relationship between EPP and laying date and the extent of the white wing patch, an index of female dominance. More body reserves at laying mean not only a higher potential fecundity but a higher level of EPP as well. This interaction had not previously received due attention but should be considered in future studies of avian breeding strategies.

Elevated nest predation risk promotes offspring size variation in birds with prolonged parental care.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gretchen F. Wagner ◽  
Emeline Mourocq ◽  
Michael Griesser
Keyword(s):  
Predation Risk ◽  
Reproductive Cycle ◽  
Perceived Risk ◽  
Nest Predation ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Size Variation ◽  
Egg Laying ◽  
Offspring Size ◽  
Natural Predation ◽  
Risk Spreading

Predation of offspring is the main cause of reproductive failure in many species, and the mere fear of offspring predation shapes reproductive strategies. Yet, natural predation risk is ubiquitously variable and can be unpredictable. Consequently, the perceived prospect of predation early in a reproductive cycle may not reflect the actual risk to ensuing offspring. An increased variance in investment across offspring has been linked to breeding in unpredictable environments in several taxa, but has so far been overlooked as a maternal response to temporal variation in predation risk. Here, we experimentally increased the perceived risk of nest predation prior to egg-laying in seven bird species. Species with prolonged parent-offspring associations increased their intra-brood variation in egg, and subsequently offspring, size. High risk to offspring early in a reproductive cycle can favour a risk-spreading strategy particularly in species with the greatest opportunity to even out offspring quality after fledging.

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