Aggressive behavior of Apis mellifera L. workers towards introduced queens. II. Role of the mandibular gland contents of the queen in releasing aggressive behavior.
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Aggression↗
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Aggressive behavior of Apis mellifera L. workers towards introduced queens. 3. Relationship between the attractiveness of the queen and worker aggression.
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Age Factors↗
A quantitative and temporal study of histamine and histidine in honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) venom.
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Animals↗
Dopamine modulation of honey bee (Apis mellifera) antennal-lobe neurons.
Primary olfactory centers [antennal lobes (ALs)] of the honey bee brain are invaded by dopamine (DA)-immunoreactive neurons early in development (pupal stage 3), immediately before a period of rapid growth and compartmentalization of the AL neuropil. Here we examine the modulatory actions of DA on honey bee AL neurons during this period. Voltage-clamp recordings in whole cell configuration were used to determine the effects of DA on ionic currents in AL neurons in vitro from pupal bees at stages 4-6 of the nine stages of metamorphic adult development. In approximately 45% of the neurons tested, DA (5-50 x 10(-5) M) reduced the amplitude of outward currents in the cells. In addition to a slowly activating, sustained outward current, DA reduced the amplitude of a rapidly activating, transient outward conductance in some cells. Both of the currents modulated by DA could be abolished by the removal of Ca2+ from the external medium or by treatment of cells with charybdotoxin (2 x 10(-8) M), a blocker of Ca2+-dependent K+ currents in the cells. Ca2+ currents were not affected by DA, nor were A-type K+ currents (I(A)). Results suggest that the delayed rectifier-like current (I(KV)) also remains intact in the presence of DA. Taken together, our data indicate that Ca2+-dependent K+ currents are targets of DA modulation in honey bee AL neurons. This study lends support to the hypothesis that DA plays a role in the developing brain of the bee.
Animals↗
Voltage-activated currents from adult honeybee (Apis mellifera) antennal motor neurons recorded in vitro and in situ.
Voltage-activated currents from adult honey bee antennal motor neurons were characterized with in vitro studies in parallel with recordings taken from cells in situ. Two methods were used to ensure unequivocal identification of cells as antennal motor neurons: 1) selective backfilling of the neurons with fluorescent markers before dissociation for cell culture or before recording from cells in intact brains, semiintact brains, or in brain slices or 2) staining with a fluorescent marker via the patch pipette during recordings and identifying antennal motor neurons in situ on the basis of their characteristic morphology. Four voltage-activated currents were isolated in these antennal motor neurons with pharmacological, voltage, and ion substitution protocols. The neurons expressed at least two distinct K+ currents, a transient current (IA) that was blocked by 4-aminopyridine (4-5 x 10(-3) M), and a sustained current (IK(V)) that was partially blocked by tetraethylammonium (2-3 x 10(-2) M) and quinidine (5 x 10(-5) M). IA activated above -40 to -30 mV and the half-maximal voltages for steady-state activation and inactivation were -8.8 and -43.2 mV, respectively. IK(V) activated above -50 to -40 mV and the midpoint of the steady-state activation curve was +11.2 mV. IK(V) did not show steady-state inactivation. Additionally, two inward currents were isolated: a tetrodotoxin (10(-7) M)-sensitive, transient Na+ current (INa) that activated above -35 mV, with a maximum around -5 mV and a half-maximal voltage for inactivation of -72.6 mV, and a CdCl2 (5 x 10(-5) M)-sensitive Ca2+ current that activated above -45 to -40 mV, with a maximum around -15 mV. This study represents the first step in our effort to analyze the cellular and ionic mechanisms underlying the intrinsic properties and plasticity of antennal motor neurons.
Algorithms↗
Aggressive behaviour of Apis mellifera L. workers towards introduced queens. I. Behavioural mechanisms involved in the release of worker aggression.
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Aggression↗
The influence of time of day on the foraging behavior of the honeybee, Apis mellifera.
The honeybee time sense, or Zeitgedächtnis, is highly adaptive, allowing bees to synchronize their foraging behavior with the peak time of daily floral nectar rhythms. Each foraging group within the honeybee colony shows a high degree of fidelity to one species of flower. Across the day, the temporal accuracy of foraging visits to experimental feeding times varies considerably, being nearly exact for morning-trained foraging groups but becoming less so for foraging groups trained later in the day. The evidence gained in this study suggests that the diel change in accuracy exhibited by foraging groups, which persists after the removal of many potential environmental time cues, is an endogenously driven behavior pattern. Furthermore, it appears that individual bees are continuously and accurately aware of the time of day, but are programmed to forage with greater anticipation to late-day food sources. Therefore, two separate processes contributing to the honeybee time sense are implicated. The first varies with time of day and determines the amount of anticipatory activity directed toward the food source. The second process is invariant across the day and is involved with the individual forager's continuous, accurate awareness of time.
Animals↗
Critical evaluation of the JDO API for the persistence and portability requirements of complex biological databases.
BACKGROUND: Complex biological database systems have become key computational tools used daily by scientists and researchers. Many of these systems must be capable of executing on multiple different hardware and software configurations and are also often made available to users via the Internet. We have used the Java Data Object (JDO) persistence technology to develop the database layer of such a system known as the SigPath information management system. SigPath is an example of a complex biological database that needs to store various types of information connected by many relationships. RESULTS: Using this system as an example, we perform a critical evaluation of current JDO technology; discuss the suitability of the JDO standard to achieve portability, scalability and performance. We show that JDO supports portability of the SigPath system from a relational database backend to an object database backend and achieves acceptable scalability. To answer the performance question, we have created the SigPath JDO application benchmark that we distribute under the Gnu General Public License. This benchmark can be used as an example of using JDO technology to create a complex biological database and makes it possible for vendors and users of the technology to evaluate the performance of other JDO implementations for similar applications. CONCLUSIONS: The SigPath JDO benchmark and our discussion of JDO technology in the context of biological databases will be useful to bioinformaticians who design new complex biological databases and aim to create systems that can be ported easily to a variety of database backends.
Computational Biology↗
Long-term maintenance of in vitro cultured honeybee (Apis mellifera) embryonic cells.
BACKGROUND: In vitro cultivation of cells allows novel investigation of in vivo- mechanisms and is a helpful tool in developmental biology, biochemistry and functional genomics. Numerous cell lines of insect species, e.g., silkworm and mosquito, have been reported. However, this is not the case for successful long-term cultivation of cells in honeybees. RESULTS: Methods for cultivation of honeybee embryonic cells are discussed here. Pre-gastrula stage embryos were used to initiate cultures, and cells were reared on 96-wells microplates with Grace insect medium, supplemented with Fetal Bovine Serum. Cells proliferated in clusters, and maintained viable and mitotic for more than three months. CONCLUSION: We report here, for the first time, long-term cultivation of honeybee cells. Results represent a highly useful in vitro-system for studying a model organism of increasing importance in areas such as aging, sociality and neurobiology.
Animals↗
Localization of deformed wing virus infection in queen and drone Apis mellifera L.
The distribution of deformed wing virus infection within the honey bee reproductive castes (queens, drones) was investigated by in situ hybridization and immunohistology from paraffin embedded sections. Digoxygenin or CY5.5 fluorochrome end-labelled nucleotide probes hybridizing to the 3' portion of the DWV genome were used to identify DWV RNA, while a monospecific antibody to the DWV-VP1 structural protein was used to identify viral proteins and particles. The histological data were confirmed by quantitative RT-PCR of dissected organs. Results showed that DWV infection is not restricted to the digestive tract of the bee but spread in the whole body, including queen ovaries, queen fat body and drone seminal vesicles.
Animals↗
Effects of load type (pollen or nectar) and load mass on hovering metabolic rate and mechanical power output in the honey bee Apis mellifera.
In this study we tested the effect of pollen and nectar loading on metabolic rate (in mW) and wingbeat frequency during hovering, and also examined the effect of pollen loading on wing kinematics and mechanical power output. Pollen foragers had hovering metabolic rates approximately 10% higher than nectar foragers, regardless of the amount of load carried. Pollen foragers also had a more horizontal body position and higher inclination of stroke plane than measured previously for honey bees (probably nectar foragers). Thorax temperatures ranked pollen > nectar > water foragers, and higher flight metabolic rate could explain the higher thorax temperature of pollen foragers. Load mass did not affect hovering metabolic rate or wingbeat frequency in a regression-model experiment. However, using an analysis of variance (ANOVA) design, loaded pollen and nectar foragers (mean loads 27% and 40% of body mass, respectively) significantly increased metabolic rate by 6%. Mean pollen loads of 18% of body mass had no effect on wingbeat frequency, stroke amplitude, body angle or inclination of stroke plane, but increased the calculated mechanical power output by 16-18% (depending on the method of estimating drag). A rise in lift coefficient as bees carry loads without increasing wingbeat frequency or stroke amplitude (and only minimal increases in metabolic rate) suggests an increased use of unsteady power-generating mechanisms.
Animals↗
Visual resolution of gratings by the compound eye of the bee Apis mellifera.
Early measurements of the resolution of horizontal versus vertical gratings were confirmed, with a limit near a period of 2.5 degrees, and the resolution is similar when vertical or horizontal gratings are tested separately against grey. Bees were next trained to discriminate from a distance between gratings at 45 degrees versus 135 degrees, with no green contrast, on targets presented in a vertical plane at a fixed distance. As expected, they fail to learn; however, with green contrast but no modulation difference the resolution limit is near 3.5 degrees. With vertical and horizontal gratings with no green contrast they discriminate but do not learn an orientation cue. In order to eliminate the orientation cue altogether, new bees were then trained with alternating vertical and horizontal gratings versus grey, or with a black and white checkerboard versus grey. Tests of these trained bees with horizontal or with vertical gratings separately against grey again show a resolution down to a period near 2.5 degrees. These results, taken together, show that when edge orientation alone is the cue, the limit of resolution is near 3.5 degrees, but when receptor modulation is the cue, the limit is near 2.5 degrees.
Animals↗
Olfactory learning by means of trophallaxis in Apis mellifera.
Early reports indicate that trophallaxis, i.e. the exchange of liquid food by mouth, may allow honeybees to assign nectar odours with predictive values to anticipate biological meaningful reward stimuli. Nevertheless, this type of learning has not been addressed directly. In the present study, pairs of animals were isolated to induce trophallaxis under controlled conditions and, afterwards, the honeybee proboscis extension reflex was used to investigate the possible role of trophallaxis in learning olfactory cues. The results demonstrate unambiguously that associative learning actually occurs by means of trophallaxis. Animals associate the odour (as the conditioned stimulus or CS) and the sucrose (as the unconditioned stimulus or US) present in the solution they receive through trophallaxis. Moreover, this particular kind of learning leads to long-term olfactory memories after a single learning trial, even when trophallaxis is brief. In addition, we found that the strength of association is clearly affected by CS and US intensity as well as the recent previous foraging experiences of the animals. Comparisons are presented among several features of the learning during trophallaxis and the classical conditioning of the proboscis extension reflex with restrained subjects. Finally, the relevance of learning through trophallaxis in the task of successful foraging is discussed.
Analysis of Variance↗
Context cues eliminate retroactive interference effects in honeybees Apis mellifera.
Free flying honeybees were trained successively on two different tasks of landmark-based spatial memory. On both task 1 and task 2, the goal was at a consistent distance and direction from a cylindrical landmark. The colours of the landmarks differed for the two tasks. The target direction from the landmark in task 2 was opposite to that in task 1. The context in which task 2 took place was either the same as the task-1 context or different: being a short distance away, having different surrounding landmarks, and a different colour on the training table. After each task, the bees were tested on task 1 in the task-1 context (test 1 and test 2). If task 2 had the same context as task 1, the bees performed at chance on test 2. If task 2 had a different context, performance on test 2 was unaffected, remaining as good as on test 1. Contextual cues thus guide memory retrieval, and prevent any confusions about which response (that appropriate for task 1 or for task 2) to perform.
Animals↗
Visual regulation of ground speed and headwind compensation in freely flying honey bees (Apis mellifera L.).
There is now increasing evidence that honey bees regulate their ground speed in flight by holding constant the speed at which the image of the environment moves across the eye (optic flow). We have investigated the extent to which ground speed is affected by headwinds. Honey bees were trained to enter a tunnel to forage at a sucrose feeder placed at its far end. Ground speeds in the tunnel were recorded while systematically varying the visual texture of the tunnel, and the strength of headwinds experienced by the flying bees. We found that in a flight tunnel bees used visual cues to maintain their ground speed, and adjusted their air speed to maintain a constant rate of optic flow, even against headwinds which were, at their strongest, 50% of a bee's maximum recorded forward velocity. Manipulation of the visual texture revealed that headwind is compensated almost fully even when the optic flow cues are very sparse and subtle, demonstrating the robustness of this visual flight control system. We discuss these findings in the context of field observations of flying bees.
Air Movements↗
Division of labor in the honey bee (Apis mellifera): the role of tyramine beta-hydroxylase.
The biogenic amine octopamine (OA) is involved in the regulation of honey bee behavioral development; brain levels are higher in foragers than bees working in the hive, especially in the antennal lobes, and treatment causes precocious foraging. We measured brain mRNA and protein activity of tyramine beta-hydroxylase (T betah), an enzyme vital for OA synthesis, in order to begin testing the hypothesis that this enzyme is responsible for the rising levels of OA during honey bee behavioral development. Brain OA levels were greater in forager bees than in bees engaged in brood care, as in previous studies, but T betah activity was not correlated with bee behavior. T betah mRNA levels, however, did closely track OA levels during behavioral development, and T betah mRNA was localized to previously identified octopaminergic neurons in the bee brain. Our results show that the transcription of this neurotransmitter synthetic enzyme is associated with regulation of social behavior in honey bees, but other factors may be involved.
Amino Acid Sequence↗
Odour-evoked responses to queen pheromone components and to plant odours using optical imaging in the antennal lobe of the honey bee drone Apis mellifera L.
The primordial functional role of honey bee males (drones) is to mate with virgin queens, a behaviour relying heavily on the olfactory detection of queen pheromone. In the present work I studied olfactory processing in the drone antennal lobe (AL), the primary olfactory centre of the insect brain. In drones, the AL consists of about 103 ordinary glomeruli and four enlarged glomeruli, the macroglomeruli (MG). Two macroglomeruli (MG1 and MG2) and approximately 20 ordinary glomeruli occupy the anterior surface of the antennal lobe and are thus accessible to optical recordings. Calcium imaging was used to measure odour-evoked responses to queen pheromonal components and plant odours. MG2 responded specifically to the main component of the queen mandibular pheromone, 9-ODA. The secondary components HOB and HVA each triggered activity in one, but not the same, ordinary glomerulus. MG1 did not respond to any of the tested stimuli. Plant odours induced signals only in ordinary glomeruli in a combinatorial manner, as in workers. This study thus shows that the major queen pheromonal component is processed in the most voluminous macroglomerulus of the drone antennal lobe, and that plant odours, as well as some queen pheromonal components, are processed in ordinary glomeruli.
Animal Communication↗
Iron-containing cells in the honey-bee (Apis mellifera). I. Adult morphology and physiology.
Particulate iron was found within the trophocytes of the fat body of the adult honey-bee. These iron granules differed in their structure and composition from iron granules found in other biological systems. The granules had an average diameter of 0.32 +/- 0.07 micron and were composed of iron, calcium and phosphorus in a non-crystalline arrangement. The granules were apparently randomly distributed within the cytoplasm of the cells, and were not associated with any particular cellular organelle. Electron microscopy revealed the presence of cell junctions between the trophocytes. In tissues treated with colloidal lanthanum, 20-nm gaps were seen between the outer leaflets of the cells forming the cell junction. Physiological studies showed that these cells are electrically coupled, but the coupling ratio is low, as a result of extensive coupling to many cells.
Adipose Tissue↗