Comb wax salvage by the red dwarf honeybee, Apis florea F.
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Author list: Hepburn R., Duangphakdee O., Phiancharoen M., Radloff S.
Publisher: Springer
Publication year: 2010
Journal: Journal of Insect Behavior (0892-7553)
Volume number: 23
Issue number: 2
Start page: 159
End page: 164
Number of pages: 6
ISSN: 0892-7553
eISSN: 1572-8889
Languages: English-Great Britain (EN-GB)
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Abstract
Cannibalizing wax from a deserted nest and reusing it in construction of a new nest is only known for absconding colonies of red dwarf honeybee, Apis florea. We tested whether A. florea would preferentially choose to salvage wax from their own, original natal comb over that of other conspecific combs (test 1) and whether they would salvage wax from comb facsimiles of A. florea combs (test 2) fashioned from the combs of A. cerana, A. dorsata, and A. mellifera. In test 1, preferences for natal comb were significantly greater than for non-natal combs. In test 2, no wax was collected from heterospecific combs. It is evident that wax discrimination is context-dependent and that there is considerable genetic variation for the wax-salvaging trait. ฉ 2010 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.
Keywords
Beeswax, Combs
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