Artificial shaking signals in honey bee colonies elicit natural responses.

ABSTRACT: Honey bee signals are primarily studied through natural observation combined with manipulations of the colony or environment, not direct manipulation of the signal stimulus or receivers. Consequently, we know little about which signal aspects are necessary to reproduce behavioral responses. Here, we focus on the shaking signal, wherein a worker grabs onto another bee and vibrates. All castes receive shaking signals, but individual responses depend on context, and the signal may be multi-modal (mechanical, odor, sound, etc.). We designed a tool to mimic the shaking signal. We tested whether a purely mechanical stimulus elicited the same behavioral response as a natural shaking signal, teasing apart the effects of signal and receiver characteristics. We found that both workers and drones inc

SUBMITTER: Koenig PA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7048926 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature