Behavioral roles of biogenic amines in bumble bee males

Abstract

To compare the behavioral roles of biogenic amines in the males of primitive and advanced eusocial bees, we determined the levels of dopamine- and octopamine-related substances in the brain, and the behavioral effects of these monoamines by drug injection in the primitive eusocial bumble bee, Bombus ignitus. The levels of dopamine and its precursors in the brain peaked at the late pupal stage, but the dopamine peak extended to adult emergence. The tyramine and octopamine levels increased from the mid-pupal to adult stages. The locomotor and flight activities, and light preference increased with age. Injection of octopamine and its receptor antagonist had significant effects on the locomotor and flight activities, whereas dopamine injection did not, indicating that these activities can be regulated by the octopaminergic system. We also determined the dynamics of dopamine-related substances in honey bee (Apis mellifera) drones. The changes in the dopamine level in the brains of honey bee drones exhibited two peaks from the pupal to adult stages, whereas the bumble bee males had only one peak. These are consistent with the behavioral functions of dopamine in honey bee drones and ineffectiveness of dopamine injection at the adult stage in bumble bee males.