Reproductive plasticity in bumblebee workers (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Bombus terrestris</Emphasis>)—reversion from fertility to sterility under queen influence |
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Authors: | Cédric Alaux Malvina Boutot Pierre Jaisson Abraham Hefetz |
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Institution: | (1) Laboratoire d’Ethologie Expérimentale et Comparée, UMR CNRS 7153, 93430 Villetaneuse, France;(2) G. S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Department of Zoology, Tel Aviv University, 69978 Tel Aviv, Israel;(3) Present address: Department of Entomology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801, USA |
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Abstract: | Worker sterility in the bumblebee Bombus terrestris is conditional and is linked to the social development of the colony. Workers refrain from reproducing or overtly challenging
the queen until gyne production has initiated, at the so-called competition point (CP). It is not known whether this behavior
is hard-wired or workers show reproductive plasticity. It also remains unclear whether worker reproductive decision is under
queen and/or worker control. In this study, we tested worker reproductive plasticity in an attempt to assess whether and under
which conditions worker sterility/fertility are reversible. We introduced egg-laying workers into colonies with different
social structures for 1 week then monitored their reproductive status. We revealed a remarkable reproductive plasticity in
the introduced workers that was social-condition-dependent. In the presence of a pre-CP queen, the introduced workers reverted
to sterility, whereas in the presence of a post-CP queen, such workers remained egg-layer. Reversion to sterility does not
occur when direct contact with the queen is prevented, as the introduced workers remained egg-layer in the queenright colonies
with a confined queen. Egg-laying workers that were introduced into queenless colonies mostly maintained their fertility regardless
of colony social phase. This shows that worker transition from cooperative to selfish behavior is reversible depending on
the social context. |
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Keywords: | Reproductive plasticity Queen control Queen signal Bombus terrestris Worker reproduction Social insects |
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