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1.
P. Kirk Visscher 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》1996,38(4):237-244
Using electrophoretic markers, eggs laid by workers were identified in honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies with a queen. Based on extrapolation, these represented about 7% of the unfertilized (male) eggs laid in the colonies.
A very small proportion of workers (of the order of 0.01%) lay these eggs. Worker-laid eggs are rapidly removed, so that very
few sons of workers are reared. Thus the reproductive cooperation in bee colonies is maintained by ongoing antagonistic interactions
among the members of the colony, with worker laying and egg removal policing by other workers being relatively common.
Received: 24 November 1995/Accepted after revision: 25 May 1996 相似文献
2.
Queen control of egg fertilization in the honey bee 总被引:3,自引:0,他引:3
The study investigated the precision with which honey bee queens can control the fertilization of the eggs they lay. Because
males and workers are reared in different-sized cells, the honey bee is one of the few Hymenoptera in which it is possible
for the experimenter to know which type of egg a queen “intends” to lay. Eggs were collected from both worker and drone (male)
cells from four honey bee colonies. Ploidy of the embryo was determined using polymorphic DNA microsatellites. All 169 eggs
taken from worker cells were heterozygous at at least one microsatellite locus showing that the egg was fertilized. All 129
eggs taken from drone cells gave a single band at the B124 locus, strongly suggesting haploidy. These data show that honey
bee queens have great, and quite possibly complete, ability to control the fertilization of the eggs they lay. Data from the
literature suggest that in two species of parasitoid Hymenoptera (Copidosoma floridanum, Colpoclypeus florus) females have great, but not complete, ability to control fertilization.
Received: 23 December 1997 / Accepted after revision: 17 May 1998 相似文献
3.
Gene E. Robinson Robert E. Page Jr. M. Kim Fondrk 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》1990,26(5):315-323
Summary Two experiments were performed to determine whether worker reproduction in queenless honey bee colonies is influenced by colony genetic structure. In Experiment 1, allozyme analyses of workers and worker-derived drone larvae revealed that in half the colonies, there were genotypic differences in worker egg-laying behavior (presumed to involve actual oviposition), but biases in drone production were not always consistent with biases in egg-laying behavior. In Experiment 2, allozyme analyses again revealed intracolonial differences in egg-laying behavior and in behavior patterns thought to involve oophagy and larval care. Data support the hypothesis of a genetic influence on this intracolonial behavioral variation. Differences in the genotypic distributions of worker-derived drones relative to workers engaged in oviposition behavior in queenless colonies may be a consequence of genetic variability for egg production or for treatment of eggs and larvae (possibly coupled with kin recognition), or both.
Offprint requests to: G.E. Robinson 相似文献
4.
Vincent Dietemann Jürgen Liebig Bert Hölldobler Christian Peeters 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2005,58(5):486-496
In social insects, conflicts over male parentage can be resolved by worker policing. However, the evolution of policing behavior is constrained by the ability of individuals to identify reproductive nestmates, or their eggs. We investigated the occurrence of worker policing and its underlying chemical communication in the bulldog ant Myrmecia gulosa. Although workers have functional ovaries and can lay male-destined eggs, they do not reproduce in queenright colonies. To determine if their sterility is a consequence of worker policing, we experimentally induced worker reproduction in the presence of a queen. Some individuals were seized and immobilized by nestmates, and sometimes killed as a consequence. Although the ovarian development of immobilized individuals was variable, their cuticular hydrocarbon profiles were intermediate between reproductive and nonreproductive workers, indicating they were in the process of starting to reproduce. Approximately 29% of these incipient reproductive workers were successfully policed. To test for policing on eggs, we transferred viable worker eggs to queenright colonies and monitored their acceptance. Furthermore, we compared the surface hydrocarbons of the different types of eggs to determine whether these chemicals could be involved in egg recognition. We found that although there were differences in hydrocarbon profiles and discrimination between queen and worker-laid eggs, viable eggs were not destroyed. Our results strongly support the idea that cuticular hydrocarbons are involved in the policing of reproductive workers. A low level of worker policing appears sufficient to select for self-restraint in workers when few fitness benefits are gained by selfish reproduction. Policing of eggs may thus be unnecessary. 相似文献
5.
Social influences on body size and developmental time in the bumblebee Bombus terrestris 总被引:1,自引:0,他引:1
Hagai Shpigler Matan Tamarkin Yael Gruber Maayan Poleg Adam J. Siegel Guy Bloch 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2013,67(10):1601-1612
In many social insects, including bumblebees, the division of labor between workers relates to body size, but little is known about the factors influencing larval development and final size. We confirmed and extend the evidence that in the bumblebee Bombus terrestris the adult bee body size is positively correlated with colony age. We next performed cross-fostering experiments in which eggs were switched between incipient (before worker emergence) and later stage colonies with workers. The introduced eggs developed into adults similar in size to their unrelated nestmates and not to their same-age full sisters developing in their mother colony. Detailed observations revealed that brood tending by the queen decreases, but does not cease, in young colonies with workers. We next showed that both worker number and the queen presence influenced the final size of the developing brood, but only the queen influence was mediated by shortening developmental time. In colonies separated by a queen excluder, brood developmental time was shorter in the queenright compartment. These findings suggest that differences in body size are regulated by the brood interactions with the queen and workers, and not by factors inside the eggs that could vary along with colony development. Finally, we developed a model showing that the typical increase in worker number and the decrease in brood contact with the queen can account for the typical increase in body size. Similar self-organized social regulation of brood development may contribute to the optimization of growth and reproduction in additional social insects. 相似文献
6.
Policing behavior that prevents workers from laying male eggs was examined in the monogynous and monandrous ponerine ant
Diacamma sp. from Japan, in which a singly mated worker called a “gamergate” reproduces as the functional queen in each colony. Since
oviposition by virgin workers is rare in the presence of a gamergate, we separated a portion of workers from the gamergates
and induced their oviposition experimentally. When orphaned workers had started to oviposit, they were returned to the original
colonies, where they continued to lay eggs for a while. The gamergates and other workers interfered with the laying workers
by aggressively taking and finally eating the eggs. In total, 60% and 29% of the worker-derived eggs were eaten by gamergates
and non-mother workers, respectively. The observed worker-worker interactions were not driven simply by competition to leave
own sons, because non-laying non-orphaned workers interfered with worker reproduction. Furthermore, orphaned workers were
usually attacked by non-orphaned workers soon after colony reunification. These results indicate that both queen policing
by gamergates and worker policing in this species are mechanisms inhibiting worker oviposition. The gamergate contribution
to policing was proportionately larger than that of workers, but among virgin workers, the relationship between dominance
rank and contribution to policing was not clear. But about 11% of the eggs were not policed and were added to egg piles, especially
in large colonies. Worker policing in a monandrous and monogynous eusocial Hymenoptera contrasts to other recent findings,
and possible genetic, social, and ecological factors for its evolution in Diacamma sp. are discussed.
Received: 16 November 1998 / Received in revised form: 9 February 1999 / Accepted: 21 February 1999 相似文献
7.
Previously we reported that there are subfamily differences in drone production in queenless honey bee colonies, but these biases are not always explained by subfamily differences in oviposition behavior. Here we determine whether these puzzling results are best explained by either inadequate sampling of the laying worker population or reproductive conflict among workers resulting in differential treatment of eggs and larvae. Using colonies composed of workers from electrophoretically distinct subfamilies, we collected samples of adult bees engaged in the following behavior: true egg laying, false egg laying, indeterminate egg laying, egg cannibalism, or nursing (contact with larvae). We also collected samples of drone brood at four different ages: 0 to 2.5-h-old eggs, 0 to 24-h-old eggs, 3 to 8-day-old larvae, and 9 to 14-day-old larvae and pupae. Allozyme analyses revealed significant subfamily differences in the likelihood of exhibiting egg laying, egg cannibalism, and nursing behavior, as well as significant subfamily differences in drone production. There were no subfamily differences among the different types of laying workers collected from each colony, suggesting that discrepancies between subfamily biases in egg-laying behavior and drone production are not due to inadequate sampling of the laying worker population. Subfamily biases in drone brood production within a colony changed significantly with brood age. Laying workers had significantly more developed ovaries than either egg cannibals or nurses, establishing a physiological correlate for the observed behavioral genetic differences. These results suggest there is reproductive conflict among subfamilies and individuals within queenless colonies of honey bees. The implications of these results for the evolution of reproductive conflict, in both queenright and queenless contexts, are discussed. 相似文献
8.
Insect societies are sometimes exploited by workers who reproduce selfishly rather than help to rear the queens offspring. This causes a conflict-of-interest with the mother queen and, frequently, with the non-reproductive workers as well. One mechanism that can reduce conflict is policing, whereby either the queen or other workers aggress egg-laying workers or destroy worker-laid eggs. Here we present the first direct observations of queen and worker policing in natural, unmanipulated colonies of a social insect, the tree wasp Dolichovespula sylvestris. Worker reproduction was common, with workers producing 50% of all male eggs. However, most worker-laid eggs, 91%, were policed within 1 day, whereas most queen-laid eggs, 96%, remained unharmed. The workers were responsible for 51% of all policing events and the queen for 49%. The workers and mother queen also commonly aggressed ovipositing workers, and successfully prevented them from depositing eggs in 14% and 6% of all attempted ovipositions. Hence, both queen policing and worker policing occur and policing acts via two distinct mechanisms: selective destruction of worker-laid eggs and aggression of ovipositing workers. At a general level, our study shows that both centralized and decentralized control can act together to suppress conflict within social groups.Communicated by R. Page 相似文献
9.
Shelley E. R. Hoover Mark L. Winston Benjamin P. Oldroyd 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2005,59(2):278-284
In most social insect colonies, workers do not attempt to lay eggs in the presence of a queen. However, in the honey bee (Apis mellifera), a rare phenotype occurs in which workers activate their ovaries and lay large numbers of male eggs despite the presence of a fecund queen. We examined the proximate mechanisms by which this ‘anarchistic’ behaviour is expressed. We tested the effects of brood and queen pheromones on retinue attraction and worker ovary activation using caged worker bees. We found no difference between the anarchistic and wild type queen pheromones in the retinue response elicited in either wild type or anarchistic workers. Further, we found that anarchistic queens produce a pheromone blend that is as effective at inhibiting ovary activation as the wild type queen pheromone. However, anarchistic workers are less inhibited by queen pheromones than their wild type counterparts, in a dose-dependent manner. These results show that the anarchistic phenomenon is not due to changes in the production of queen pheromones, but rather is due in part to a shift in the worker response to these queen-produced signals. In addition, we demonstrate the dose-dependent nature of the effect of queen pheromones on honey bee worker ovary activation. 相似文献
10.
Tamar Katzav-Gozansky Victoria Soroker Fernando Ibarra Wittko Francke Abraham Hefetz 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2001,51(1):76-86
The role of Dufour's gland secretion as an egg discriminator pheromone was reevaluated by simultaneously exposing workers to two combs, one containing queen- or worker-laid eggs and the second containing treated or untreated worker-laid eggs. Treatments included extracts of Dufour's gland secretion as well as the synthetic esters that were identified in the secretion. Policing was clearly detected both in queenright and queenless colonies by the swift removal of worker, but not of queen eggs. However, neither the glandular secretion nor its synthetic ester constituents were able to protect worker-born eggs from policing. Treated worker eggs were removed significantly faster than queen eggs, and at the same rate as non-treated worker eggs. These results are not consistent with the hypothesis that the secretion serves as an egg-marking pheromone. Chemical analyses of the queen abdominal tips revealed the presence of Dufour's esters, indicating that the glandular secretion oozes out and spreads over the cuticle around the genital chamber. However, contamination while ovipositing may also explain the minute amounts of these esters that were detected on the egg surface. Dufour's gland caste-specific composition suggests that in queens it may constitute a signal that plays a role in queen-worker interactions. Attraction bioassays revealed that the queen secretion, but not that of workers, is very attractive to workers. When applied either on a glass slide or on another worker, a retinue formed around the "surrogate queen". We conclude that Dufour's gland secretion constitutes part of a complex queen signal that is the basis for the social integrity of the honeybee colony. 相似文献
11.
Wim Bonckaert Adam Tofilski Fabio S. Nascimento Johan Billen Francis L. W. Ratnieks Tom Wenseleers 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2011,65(4):633-640
In insect societies, workers often try to challenge the reproductive monopoly of the queen by laying their own eggs. Successful
worker reproduction, however, is frequently prevented by queen policing or worker policing, whereby either the mother queen
or non-reproductive workers selectively kill worker-laid eggs. Recently, a third mechanism—“selfish” worker policing—has also
been described in which the workers selectively police worker-laid eggs but also lay eggs themselves. Here, we present results
from the monogynous wasp Dolichovespula norwegica, which show that all three kinds of policing—queen policing, worker policing and “selfish” worker policing—co-occur. The
net effect of these three kinds of policing collectively favoured the queen’s reproduction, as within 1 day 44% of the worker-laid
eggs versus only 8% of the queen-laid eggs were eaten. Of the worker-laid eggs that were killed by workers, approximately
two thirds were eaten by the reproductive workers even though these made up only a small proportion, 8%, of the work force.
This means that policing workers obtained both direct fitness benefits as well as indirect (inclusive) fitness. In addition,
we show that worker policing was carried out by a limited, specialised set of workers that was estimated to constitute approximately
one quarter of the whole colony and of which 66% were non-reproductive. 相似文献
12.
Informational constraints can be an important limitation on the accuracy of recognition. One potential constraint is the use
of recognition information from the same sources in multiple discriminatory contexts. Worker wood ants, Formica fusca, discriminate eggs based on their maternal sources of origin in two main contexts: recognition of eggs laid by nestmate versus
non-nestmate queens and recognition of worker-laid versus queen-laid eggs. We manipulated the experience of F. fusca workers in laboratory colonies to both worker-laid and queen-laid eggs by transferring eggs between colonies in order to
investigate whether these two contexts of egg discrimination are independent. Experience of non-nestmate queen-laid eggs significantly
increased worker acceptance of both familiar (18% accepted) and unfamiliar (10%) queen-laid eggs compared to control workers
without experience of eggs other than those laid by their own colony’s queen (2%). In contrast, worker acceptance of worker-laid
eggs was not affected by variation in the egg experience of workers (14% in workers from control colonies exposed only to
eggs from their own colony’s queen versus 19% and 17% in workers from colonies which had received eggs laid by either a non-nestmate
queen or nestmate workers, respectively). Our results suggest that these two recognition contexts do not strongly constrain
each other and are different in their ontogeny. In particular, worker-laid eggs are universally discriminated against by workers
from colonies with a queen whatever the egg experience of the workers, while non-nestmate queen-laid eggs are strongly discriminated
against only by workers without experience of eggs laid by more than one queen. 相似文献
13.
A conflict over male production arises in social insects where workers are able to lay unfertilized male eggs. This happens
because each female (queen or worker) is most closely related to her own sons and is thus predicted to reproduce. The conflict
is modulated by worker policing where workers prevent each other from reproducing by aggression or egg cannibalism. In this
study, we show that in the ant Formica fusca, worker policing occurs by egg cannibalism rather than by overt aggression among workers. Furthermore, we show that, contrary
to bees, wasps and other ant species, egg discrimination in F. fusca is not based only on a universal queen signature chemical and that nest mate recognition of eggs occurs. 相似文献
14.
In anarchistic honey-bee colonies, many workers’ sons are reared despite the presence of the queen. Worker-laid eggs are normally
eaten by other workers in queenright colonies. Workers are thought to discriminate between queen-laid and worker-laid eggs
by the presence or absence of a queen-produced egg-marking pheromone. This study compared the survival of three classes of
eggs (worker-laid eggs from anarchistic colonies, worker-laid eggs from non-anarchistic queenless colonies, and queen-laid
eggs) in both queenright normal colonies and queenright anarchistic colonies, in order to test the hypothesis that anarchistic
workers evade policing by laying more acceptable eggs. As expected, few worker-laid eggs from non-anarchistic colonies survived
more than 2 h. In contrast, worker-laid eggs from anarchistic colonies had much greater acceptability, which in some trials
equalled the acceptability of queen-laid eggs. Anarchistic colonies were generally less discriminatory than normal queenright
colonies towards worker-laid eggs, whether these originated from anarchistic colonies or normal queenless colonies. This indicates
that the egg-removal aspect of the anarchistic syndrome involves both worker laying of eggs with greater acceptability and
reduced discriminatory behaviour of policing workers.
Received: 19 July 1999 / Received in revised form: 3 November 1999 / Accepted: 20 November 1999 相似文献
15.
Stephen C. Pratt 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》1998,42(3):193-205
Honey bee colonies furnish their nests with two types of comb distinguished by cell size: large cells for rearing males (drone
comb) and small cells for rearing workers (worker comb). The bees actively regulate the relative quantity of each type, a
behavior likely to be important in setting a colony's sex ratio. Experimental analysis of the information pathways and control
mechanisms responsible for this regulation found the following results. The amount of drone comb in a nest is governed by
negative feedback from drone comb already constructed. This feedback depends on the workers having direct contact with the
drone comb in their nest, but does not depend on the queen's contact with the comb. The comb itself, rather than the brood
within it, is sufficient to provide the negative feedback, although the brood may also contribute to the effect. These findings
show that drone comb regulation does not depend on the queen acting as a centralized information gatherer and behavioral controller.
Instead, the evidence points to a decision-making process distributed across the population of worker bees, a control architecture
typical of colony organization in honey bees and other large-colony insect societies.
Received: 24 May 1997 / Accepted after revision: 30 August 1997 相似文献
16.
Andrew B. Barron Benjamin P. Oldroyd Francis L. Ratnieks 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2001,50(3):199-208
Honey-bees, Apis, are an important model system for investigating the evolution and maintenance of worker sterility. The queen is the main reproductive in a colony. Workers cannot mate, but they can lay unfertilized eggs, which develop into males if reared. Worker reproduction, while common in queenless colonies, is rare in queenright colonies, despite the fact that workers are more related to their own sons than to those of the queen. Evidence that worker sterility is enforced by 'worker policing' is reviewed and worker policing is shown to be widespread in Apis. We then discuss a rare behavioural syndrome, 'anarchy', in which substantial worker production of males occurs in queenright colonies. The level of worker reproduction in these anarchic colonies is far greater than in a normal queenright honey-bee colony. Anarchy is a counterstrategy against worker policing and an example of a 'cheating' strategy invading a cooperative system. 相似文献
17.
Stephen J. Martin Nicolas Châline Falko Drijfhout Graeme R. Jones 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2005,59(1):24-29
In queen-right honeybee colonies workers detect and eat the vast majority of worker-laid eggs, a behaviour known as worker policing. However, if a colony becomes permanently queen-less then up to 25% of the worker population develops their ovaries and lay eggs, which are normally reared into a final batch of males. Ovary development in workers is accompanied by changes in the chemical secretion of the Dufour's gland with the production of queen-like esters. We show that ester production increases with the period that the colony is queen-less. The increased ester production also corresponds to an increase in persistence of worker-laid eggs in queen-right colonies, since the esters somehow mask the eggs true identity. However, in a rare queen-less colony phenotype, workers always eat eggs indiscriminately. We found that the egg-laying workers in these colonies were unusual in that they were unable to produce esters. This apparently maladaptive egg eating behaviour is also seen in queen-less colonies prior to the appearance of egg-laying workers, a period when esters are also absent. However, the indiscriminate egg eating behaviour stops with the appearance of ester-producing egg-laying workers. These observations suggest that esters are providing some contextual information, which affects the egg eating behaviour of the workers. 相似文献
18.
Nathalie Stroeymeyt Elisabeth Brunner Jürgen Heinze 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2007,61(9):1449-1457
Animal societies, including those of humans, are under constant threat by selfish individuals, who attempt to enforce their
own interests at the cost of the group. In the societies of bees, wasps, and ants, such individual selfishness can be prevented
by “policing,” whereby workers or queens impede the reproduction of other individuals by aggression, immobilization, or egg
eating. In this study, we report on a particular kind of reproduction control in the ant Temnothorax unifasciatus, which can be considered as a selfish act itself. We experimentally induced workers to lay eggs by dividing several colonies
into two halves, one with and one without a queen. In queenless colonies, workers established rank orders by aggression and
several top-ranking workers started to reproduce. Upon reunification, egg-laying workers mostly stopped behaving aggressively.
They were neither attacked by the queen nor by random workers, but instead received infrequent, nondestructive, targeted aggression
from a few workers, most of which became fertile when the queen was later removed. The introduction of differentially stained
worker-laid and queen-laid eggs in queenright fragments did not lead to a selective removal of worker-laid eggs. Hence, there
appears to be no collective worker policing in T. unifasciatus. Instead, reproduction appears to be controlled mostly through a few attacks from high-ranking workers, which, in this way,
might attempt to selfishly increase their chances of future reproduction. 相似文献
19.
Robin F. A. Moritz 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》1989,25(6):437-444
Summary Although honeybee workers are usually infertile, in queenless colonies some workers can develop ovaries and produce offspring. Therefore the classical Darwinian fitness of workers is not zero. Experimental studies in the Cape honey bee (Apis mellifera capensis) reveal a huge genetic variation for individual fitness of workers. The present study with a one locus, two allele model for reproductive dominance of workers shows that a balanced system between colony level and individual within colony selection plausibly explains the phenomenon of a high genetic variance of worker fitness. In particular, a frequent occurrence of queenless colonies in the population leads to stable polymorphic equilibria. Also the multiple mating system of the honey bee queen supports the propagation of alleles causing reproductive dominance of workers. 相似文献
20.
Heikki Helanterä Stephen J. Martin Francis L. W. Ratnieks 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2007,62(2):223-228
We studied the effect of prior experience to eggs laid by nestmate and non-nestmate queens on the acceptance of queen-laid
eggs by worker wood ants, Formica fusca. We transferred eggs from a non-nestmate queen into colonies during early spring, when their own queen was recommencing egg
laying. A few weeks later, workers from these “experienced” colonies accepted eggs of both familiar (44% acceptance) and unfamiliar
(40%) non-nestmate queens much more than workers from control colonies (2%) that had only had previous contact with their
own queen’s eggs. Thus, prior exposure to eggs laid by a non-nestmate queen induces much greater acceptance of all non-nestmate
queen-laid eggs. Mechanistically, we hypothesize that exposure to eggs from several queens may increase acceptance by causing
a highly permissive acceptance threshold of non-nestmate queen-laid eggs rather than by widening the template for acceptable
queen-laid eggs. These novel results show that egg-discrimination behaviour in F. fusca is flexible and that workers respond to the diversity of eggs experienced in their colony. 相似文献