Larval pheromones act as colony-wide regulators of collective foraging behavior in honeybees. (4th July 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Ma, R; Villar, G; Grozinger, C M; Rangel, J
• Is Part Of: Behavioral ecology. Volume 29:Number 5(2018)
• Page Start: 1132
• Page End: 1141
• Publication Date: 2018-07-04
• Subjects: animal communication -- collective behavior -- honeybees -- information transfer -- larval pheromone signals -- neurophysiology; Animal behavior -- Periodicals; Behavior evolution -- Periodicals; Ecology -- Periodicals; Psychology, Comparative -- Periodicals; 591.5
• DOI: 10.1093/beheco/ary090
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1045-2249

Abstract

Abstract : Chemical signals profoundly influence animal behavior, but how are they spread? Honeybees provide a unique opportunity to study chemical communication in large groups because their signals can regulate the behavior of thousands of individuals simultaneously. Here, we demonstrate that adult honeybees detect and respond over large distances to pheromones produced by larvae, suggesting that these chemical signals act globally across the colony. Abstract: When animals move or forage in groups, collective behaviors arise from independent decisions that individuals make based on limited information about the environment. In decentralized systems in which individuals use local cues to decide how to allocate their time amongst multiple tasks, a "global" signal detectable over large distances by all members of the group could have a profound effect on task allocation and coordination. Honeybees provide a unique opportunity to study how information transfer modulates behavior because they produce pheromones that can regulate the actions of thousands of individuals in a colony. We used electrophysiological and behavioral assays to compare the transmission modes of 2 larval pheromones to test the hypothesis that larval pheromones can act as "global" signals by rapidly regulating behavior throughout a colony without direct physical interactions between individuals. By studying mechanisms of pheromone transmission at the individual and colony level, we provide evidence that larval pheromones act as direct rapid and powerful regulators of behavior, even among individuals too far away from each other to use visual or tactile cues. Therefore, our results suggest that in some cases, global signals can be important regulators of collective behavior.