Consequences of scented food distribution inside the honeybee

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

Washington D.C. , Estados Unidos.

Congreso; IUSSI 2006 Congress; 2006

IUSSI (International Union for the Study of Social Insects)

When successful honeybee foragers (Apis mellifera) return to the nest and transfer the collected nectar to hive mates, the liquid food then becomes rapidly distributed among colony members (Nixon & Ribbands 1952). Olfactory learning can also happen inside the colonies while the incoming scented food circulates amongst hive mates that later will be recruited to the advertised flower type (Farina et al. 2005). Here, we tested whether the distribution of liquid food amongst honeybees causes firstly a propagation of olfactory information within the hive, and later an effect on food preferences outside. We focused on the learning abilities of workers belonging to different ages and task-groups. Using the proboscis extension response paradigm we show that large proportions of young workers (4-9 day-old bees), middle-aged workers (12-16 day-old bees), first-order food-receivers (hive bees receiving nectar from incoming foragers) and foragers collecting alternative unscented feeders associatively learn the food odor in the course of processing food. Regarding to the effect of olfactory information on food preferences, it was analyzed by using in-hive feeders. After offering scented sugar solution, forager bees were compelled to choose inside a flight chamber between two scented feeders. We observed that the circulation of aromatized sugar solution among nest-mates could be transferred to an operant response during the searching for food, influencing the foragers’ choice. In summary, present results show that: i) honeybees learn inside the hive the pairing scent-sugar solution through trophallaxis, 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.