Abstract
A honeybee colony is a superorganism that has evolved precise communication systems, which allow the colony to gather information from numerous individuals and coordinate its behavior. Alarm pheromones, such as isopentyl acetate (IPA), the main component of sting alarm pheromone, play a critical role in the coordination of individual behaviors as well as colony communication in honeybee colonies. In this study, honeybees (Apis mellifera ligustica and Apis cerana cerana) were exposed to relatively high levels of IPA at a foraging site (6–8 bee equivalents) and inside their colony (28–58 bee equivalents) to investigate the influence of alarm pheromones on foraging activity and hive flight activity. IPA reduced the number of bees that flew out the hive, foraged, and waggle danced. Under both contexts in the hive and at the food source, IPA can therefore inhibit honey bee foraging and foraging communication.
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Acknowledgements
We wish to thank the James Nieh and Richard Corlett whose comments have improved our manuscript. This work was supported by the Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Sericultural & Apicultural Research Institute, Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences. China National Research Fund (31260585) to Ken Tan.
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Zhiwen Gong, Chao Wang and Shihao Dong contributed equally to this work
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Gong, Z., Wang, C., Dong, S. et al. High Concentrations of the Alarm Pheromone Component, Isopentyl Acetate, Reduces Foraging and Dancing in Apis mellifera Ligustica and Apis cerana Cerana. J Insect Behav 30, 188–198 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10905-017-9606-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10905-017-9606-4