Honey bees dance with their super-sister

Abstract

Four colonies of honey bees, Apis mellifera, each composed of two subfamilies were separately placed in a screen cage. Bees of each subfamily were found at different frequencies on a pollen feeder, a sucrose feeder and on the roof of the cage, indicating subfamilial genetic variance for foraging preferences. The colonies were then placed in observation hives, and communication dances were observed. The type (pollen or no pollen) and subfamily of dancers and the subfamily of recruits were recorded. Subfamilial variance for nectar or pollen preference and propensity to dance were observed in every case. There was a strong tendency for recruits to follow dances performed by a member of their own subfamily, indicating subfamily recognition. However, at least some of this positive assortment was due to a complex interaction of genotypic differences among subfamilies in their foraging preferences and tendencies to dance.