Abstract
Although honey bee brood does not need to seek shelter or food and restricts its movements to small wax cells, larvae have some degree of motility. Previously, other studies described how honey bee larvae showed analogous behaviours to the wandering period in holometabolous insects. The current research aimed to measure locomotion of the honey bee brood at different conditions of food supply and larval stadia. Besides, we developed an actometry assay to describe the larval behaviour under laboratory conditions. Our results suggested that the satiety and developmental program of larvae modulated their locomotion. Before they pupated, larval speed increased sharply and then it dropped until quiescence. However, starvation also induced an increase in angular velocity of brood. Starved larvae were between three and five times faster than the satiated ones. Moreover, fifth instars left their wax cells after 2 h of starvation without nurse bees. In the actometry assay, larvae showed behaviours of dispersion and changes in their kinematic parameters after detecting a tactile stimulus like the edge of arenas.
Highlights
As eusocial holometabolous insects, the honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) live within a nest as a colony with a single reproductive female and cooperative brood care among sisters (Winston 1987)
TVohle.:(d01i2ff3e4r5e6n78t 9k)inds of locomotion in larvae are the consequence of different motor patterns which depend on the type of larva and the survival strategy (Brackenbury 2000; van Griethuijsen and Trimmer 2014)
56% of the monitored larvae showed locomotion in circles at the bottom of the wax cells with transversal turns in the clockwise direction
Summary
The honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) live within a nest as a colony with a single reproductive female (queen) and cooperative brood care among sisters (Winston 1987). Brood pheromones and odour cues inform the presence of larvae, their developmental stage and food needs (Pankiw 2004). This complex brood rearing system is distinctive of certain eusocial hymenopteran species and. For this reason, locomotion and searching behaviours in most larvae are relevant traits allowing them to avoid predators and to seek food or shelter. Locomotion and searching behaviour in the honey bee larva depend on nursing interaction TVohle.:(d01i2ff3e4r5e6n78t 9k)inds of locomotion in larvae are the consequence of different motor patterns which depend on the type of larva and the survival strategy (Brackenbury 2000; van Griethuijsen and Trimmer 2014).
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
