Abstract
The combined behaviours of individuals within insect societies determine the survival and development of the colony. For the western honey bee (Apis mellifera), individual behaviours include nest building, foraging, storing and ripening food, nursing the brood, temperature regulation, hygiene and defence. However, the various behaviours inside the colony, especially within the cells, are hidden from sight, and until recently, were primarily described through texts and line drawings, which lack the dynamics of moving images. In this study, we provide a comprehensive source of online video material that offers a view of honey bee behaviour within comb cells, thereby providing a new mode of observation for the scientific community and the general public. We analysed long-term video recordings from longitudinally truncated cells, which allowed us to see sideways into the cells in the middle of a colony. Our qualitative study provides insight into worker behaviours, including the use of wax scales and existing nest material to remodel combs, storing pollen and nectar in cells, brood care and thermoregulation, and hygienic practices, such as cannibalism, grooming and surface cleaning. We reveal unique processes that have not been previously published, such as the rare mouth-to-mouth feeding by nurses to larvae as well as thermoregulation within cells containing the developing brood. With our unique video method, we are able to bring the processes of a fully functioning social insect colony into classrooms and homes, facilitating ecological awareness in modern times. We provide new details and images that will help scientists test their hypotheses on social behaviours. In addition, we encourage the non-commercial use of our material to educate beekeepers, the media and the public and, in turn, call attention to the general decline of insect biomass and diversity.
Highlights
The survival, progress and homeostasis of a honey bee colony depend on the coordination of the individuals’ advantageous decisions
Darwin took prominent steps to educate the public on bee behaviour, describing the remarkable comb-building activities of honey bees in his writings [3]
While that study focused on the impact of neonicotinoids on nursing behaviour, we present here quantitative and qualitative analyses of social behaviour observed during these long-term recordings. These analyses include the quantification of brood cell visits and considerable video footage of worker behaviours, such as the creation and use of wax scales, deployment and uptake of pollen and nectar, brood care and inspection, thermoregulation, capping, cannibalism, grooming and surface cleaning
Summary
The survival, progress and homeostasis of a honey bee colony depend on the coordination of the individuals’ advantageous decisions. By rotating comb strips 90 ̊, and regulating the loss of temperature with a double layer of glass and providing only a small space for the hive to build, he induced the bees to raise brood in cells with a translucent cell wall After observing these cells, Lindauer described the process of nursing the brood in writing, whereas 35 years later, an analogue video recording device was used for this purpose for the first time [16]. While that study focused on the impact of neonicotinoids on nursing behaviour, we present here quantitative and qualitative analyses of social behaviour observed during these long-term recordings These analyses include the quantification of brood cell visits and considerable video footage of worker behaviours, such as the creation and use of wax scales, deployment and uptake of pollen and nectar, brood care and inspection, thermoregulation, capping, cannibalism, grooming and surface cleaning. We provide online, publicly accessible recordings of each of the aforementioned behaviours for educational purposes
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