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Recognition of resident and non-resident individuals in intraspecific nest defense of a primitively eusocial halictine bee

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Summary

In laboratory colonies ofLasioglossum zephyrum, derived from unrelated pupae and in nests with identical soil and food sources, guards recognize non-resident conspecifics on the basis of odor discrimination. Odors which are important in this recognition mechanism seem to be individual bee odors. The system of recognition may be one of the following: 1. The guard recognizes the summation of odors emitted by all resident bees, and a non-resident intruder emitting an odor which is not part of this repertoire elicits aggressive responses by the guard, or 2. the guard becomes habituated to the odors of each resident bee, and a non-resident intruder emitting an odor to which the guard is not habituated, elicits aggressive responses.

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References

  • Batra, S. W. T.: Behavior of the social bee,Lasioglossum zephyrum, within the nest. Insects Sociaux11, 159–186 (1964)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Entomology and Department of Physiology and Cell Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, USA

    William J. Bell

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  1. William J. Bell
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Additional information

The author is grateful to Trish Jones and Profs. R. Jander and C. D. Michener for critically reading the manuscript. This research was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation (GB-38502 and GB-8588X).

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Bell, W.J. Recognition of resident and non-resident individuals in intraspecific nest defense of a primitively eusocial halictine bee. J. Comp. Physiol. 93, 195–202 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00606999

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00606999

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