Do honey phytochemicals modulate forager aggression and the gut microbiome in the honey bee (Apis mellifera L.)?

ABSTRACT: Plant phytochemicals found in nectar impact bee learning and memory and plant pollination success. Especially for generalist pollinators, dietary changes that alter phytochemical consumption could be common sources of behavioral variation. For honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) foragers, a major potential change in phytochemical consumption occurs when individuals switch from collecting nectar from flowers to collecting honey from neighboring colonies, a phenomenon known as honey robbing. In this study we investigated whether phytochemicals dominant in honey compared to nectar act as a short-term trigger of robbing behaviors in honey bee, which include increased aggression. We fed forager honey bees sucrose diets containing different phytochemicals found in nectar and honey and tested aggressio

SUBMITTER: Pike WA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12570152 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature