Abstract
Several species of social bees exhibit population-level lateralization in learning odors and recalling olfactory memories. Honeybees Apis mellifera and Australian social stingless bees Trigona carbonaria and Austroplebeia australis are better able to recall short- and long-term memory through the right and left antenna respectively, whereas non-social mason bees Osmia rufa are not lateralized in this way. In honeybees, this asymmetry may be partially explained by a morphological asymmetry at the peripheral level—the right antenna has 5% more olfactory sensilla than the left antenna. Here we looked at the possible correlation between the number of the antennal sensilla and the behavioral asymmetry in the recall of olfactory memories in A. australis and O. rufa. We found no population-level asymmetry in the antennal sensilla distribution in either species examined. This suggests that the behavioral asymmetry present in the stingless bees A. australis may not depend on lateral differences in antennal receptor numbers.
Highlights
IntroductionThe different functional specialization of the right and left sides of the nervous system (lateralization) is a feature shared by many vertebrates and invertebrate species (see [1,2]).Lateralization manifests itself in a substantial range of behaviors and cognitive tasks, and mediates distinct sensory, motor and cognitive processes
The different functional specialization of the right and left sides of the nervous system is a feature shared by many vertebrates and invertebrate species.Lateralization manifests itself in a substantial range of behaviors and cognitive tasks, and mediates distinct sensory, motor and cognitive processes
The same two individuals that had more olfactory sensilla on the left antenna, had significantly more non-olfactory sensilla on the left antenna (Table 2). We showed that both O. rufa and A. australis do not show differences at the population level in the number of olfactory and non-olfactory sensilla on the right and the left antennae
Summary
The different functional specialization of the right and left sides of the nervous system (lateralization) is a feature shared by many vertebrates and invertebrate species (see [1,2]).Lateralization manifests itself in a substantial range of behaviors and cognitive tasks, and mediates distinct sensory, motor and cognitive processes. Behavioral asymmetries such as, for example, a side-bias in turning in one direction or a preferential use of one eye, ear or nostril to respond to specific stimuli, have been associated with corresponding asymmetries in the anatomical substrates of the nervous system (see [1]). These anatomical differences can be present at different levels:. Letzkus et al [6] looked at the distribution of one type of olfactory sensilla (the sensilla placodea) on the antennae and found that the right antenna had more sensilla placodea compared to the left antenna, and they linked this result with the better performance
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