Worker reproduction in mixed-species colonies of honey bees
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Author list: Tan K., Yang M., Radloff S., Pirk C.W.W., Crewe R.M., Phiancharoen M., Hepburn R., Oldroyd B.P.
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Publication year: 2009
Journal: Behavioral Ecology (1045-2249)
Volume number: 20
Issue number: 5
Start page: 1106
End page: 1110
Number of pages: 5
ISSN: 1045-2249
eISSN: 1465-7279
Languages: English-Great Britain (EN-GB)
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Abstract
To explore reasons for the unusually high rates of worker ovary activation in Apis cerana, we investigated the reproductive physiology of workers in conspecific and mixed-species colonies of A. cerana and its sibling species Apis mellifera under queenright and queenless conditions. In both queenless and queenright conspecific colonies, the proportion of A. cerana workers with activated ovaries was significantly greater than the proportion of A. mellifera workers with activated ovaries. Apis cerana workers showed significantly greater ovary activation in queenright mixed-species colonies than in conspecific queenright colonies. Moreover, there was significantly greater ovary activation in A. cerana workers in mixed-species colonies headed by A. mellifera queens than A. mellifera workers in mixed-species colonies headed by A. cerana queens. Apis mellifera workers in conspecific queenless colonies showed significantly greater ovary activation than those in mixed-species queenless colonies. Quantification of the chemical components of mandibular gland pheromones of queens of the 2 species showed that they are similar. Combined, our results show that queen signals have been preserved between the 2 species and that workers respond to the heterospecific signals from queens. However, despite the similarity in the queen mandibular gland fatty acid secretions between the 2 species, workers respond differentially toward hetero- and conspecific queens.
Keywords
Apis mellifera, Honest signals, Ovary activation, Pheromones, Queen mandibular pheromone, Worker
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