Comb construction in mixed-species colonies of honeybees, Apis cerana and Apis mellifera
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Author list: Yang M.-X., Tan K., Radloff S.E., Phiancharoen M., Randall Hepburn H.
Publisher: The Company of Biologists
Publication year: 2010
Journal: Journal of Experimental Biology (0022-0949)
Volume number: 213
Issue number: 10
Start page: 1659
End page: 1664
Number of pages: 6
ISSN: 0022-0949
eISSN: 1477-9145
Languages: English-Great Britain (EN-GB)
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Abstract
Comb building in mixed-species colonies of Apis cerana and Apis mellifera was studied. Two types of cell-size foundation were made from the waxes of these species and inserted into mixed colonies headed either by an A. cerana or an A. mellifera queen. The colonies did not discriminate between the waxes but the A. cerana cell-size foundation was modified during comb building by the workers of both species. In pure A. cerana colonies workers did not accept any foundation but secreted wax and built on foundation in mixed colonies. Comb building is performed by small groups of workers through a mechanism of self-organisation. The two species cooperate in comb building and construct nearly normal combs but they contain many irregular cells. In pure A. mellifera colonies, the A. cerana cell size was modified and the queens were reluctant to lay eggs on such combs. In pure A. cerana colonies, the A. mellifera cell size was built without any modification but these cells were used either for drone brood rearing or for food storing. The principal elements of comb-building behaviour are common to both species, which indicates that they evolved prior to and were conserved after speciation. ฉ 2010. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.
Keywords
Comb construction, Mixed species
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