Consequences of scented food distribution inside the honeybee hive.

FARINA, WALTER M; GRÜTER, CHRISTOPH; ARENAS, ANDRÉS; FERNÁNDEZ, VANESA

Washington, USA

Congreso; IUSSI 2006 Congress; 2006

International Union for the Study of Social Insects

When successful honeybee foragers (Apis mellifera) return to the nest and transfer the collected nectar to hivemates, the liquid food becomes rapidly distributed among colony members. Olfactory learning can also occur inside the colonies while the incoming scented food is transferred to hivemates, which later may be recruited to the advertised flower type. We tested (i) if the distribution of liquid food amongst honeybees causes a propagation of olfactory information within the hive, and (ii) if acquired olfactory memories have an effect on food preferences outside the hive. To address the first question, we tested the olfactory memories of workers belonging to different ages and task-groups. Using the proboscis extension response (PER) paradigm, we show that large proportions of young workers (4-9 day-old bees), middle-aged workers (12-16 day-old bees), receivers (hive bees receiving nectar from incoming foragers) and foragers collecting alternative unscented feeders associatively learn the food odor in the course of processing the collected food. To address the second question, the effect of olfactory information on food preferences, we used in-hive feeders. After offering scented sugar solution, forager bees could choose between two scented feeders inside a flight chamber. We observed that the circulation of scented sugar solution among nest-mates biased the food choice of foragers, which shows that the acquired olfactory memory was retrieved in an operant response during the search for food. In summary, present results show that: i) honeybees learn the pairing scent-sugar solution through trophallaxis inside the hive, ii) the olfactory information is shared rapidly inside the hive and more or less equally between bees of all ages and task-groups, iii) appetitive olfactory experiences acquired inside the hive can affect decision-making processes during the later foraging tasks.