Age and behavior of honey bees, Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae), that perform vibration signals on workers

Author(s): Schneider, S. S.

Journal/Book: Ethology. 1998; 104: Kurfurstendamm 57, D-10707 Berlin, Germany. Blackwell Wissenschafts-Verlag GmbH. 457-473.

Abstract: The vibration signal is one of the most commonly occurring communication displays in honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies. It may function in a 'modulatory' manner, because it causes a nonspecific increase in activity that enhances a variety of behaviors depending upon the age and caste of the recipient. We examined honey bee workers that performed vibration signals on other workers in three observation hives, each containing a population of marked bees of known age. In all three colonies, the mean age of the first performance of the vibration signal was significantly different from the mean age at which workers first performed waggle dances, carried pollen loads, or attended the queen. However, workers of all ages, except those less than 3 d old, could perform vibration signals. In older workers of foraging age, signal performance was most closely associated with recent foraging success. Younger workers that vibrated did not appear to be early-maturing foragers and thus their signals were probably not influenced by food collection. Rather, for these preforaging-age workers. Signal performance was associated more with periods of orientation fight, during which younger bees learn the location of the nest and surrounding landmarks. Thus, the vibration signal may be triggered by different stimuli in different worker age classes. Because it elicits a general increase in activity in all recipients, the signal may help adjust many different colony behaviors simultaneously to changes in foraging success and colony development.

Note: Article Schneider SS, Univ N Carolina, Dept Biol, Charlotte,NC 28223 USA

Keyword(s): DIVISION-OF-LABOR; SCUTELLATA HYMENOPTERA; SUCCESSFUL FORAGERS; POLISTES-METRICUS; DANCE BEHAVIOR; COLONIES; COMMUNICATION; WASP; DISCRIMINATION; ORGANIZATION

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