Abstract
A very common honeybee signal is the dorso-ventral abdominal vibration (DVAV) signal, widely accepted as a modulatory signal meaning: “prepare for greater activity”. In this study, using ultra-sensitive accelerometer technology embedded in the honeycomb, we visually confirm the one-to-one relationship between a DVAV signal being produced and the resulting accelerometer waveform, allowing the measurement of DVAV signals without relying on any visual inspection. We then demonstrate a novel method for the continuous in-situ non-invasive automated monitoring of this honeybee signal, not previously known to induce any vibration into the honeycomb, and most often inaudible to human hearing. We monitored a total of three hives in the UK and France, showing that the signal is very common, highly repeatable and occurs more frequently at night, exhibiting a distinct decrease in instances and increase in amplitude towards mid-afternoon. We also show an unprecedented increase in the cumulative amplitude of DVAV signals occurring in the hours preceding and following a primary swarm. We conclude that DVAV signals may have additional functions beyond solely being a foraging activation signal, and that the amplitude of the signal might be indicative of the switching of its purpose.
Highlights
As with the choice of name, the function of the dorso-ventral abdominal vibration (DVAV) signal causes debate amongst scientists
For comparison between a DVAV signal that occurred on the same side of the frame as the one shown in Fig. 1, which is seen in Video S3, and on the other side of the frame that is seen in Video S4, refer to Supplementary Figs S1 and S2
Owing to the repeating pattern of individual knocks that make up the DVAV signal, we show that the existence of these features within a signal waveform can be identified using 2-dimensional Fourier Transform (2D-FT) analysis, even when the signal to noise ratio is exceptionally low
Summary
As with the choice of name, the function of the DVAV signal causes debate amongst scientists. Even though only around 13% of workers ever perform DVAV signals during their lifetimes[25,26], it has been suggested that the DVAV signal can be observed hundreds of times per hour, usually regulating two distinct colony activities: foraging and swarming[27]. Queens have been observed receiving DVAV signals from worker bees. Peirce et al.[42] observed that DVAV signal production on queens and fellow workers increases in the two to three days preceding swarming. This evidence all supports the message of “prepare for flight[43] or greater activity23”. It is believed that DVAV signalling plays a role in drone maturation and maintenance by making them more active within the hive and more likely to receive the care (grooming and trophallaxis) required for sexual development
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