Abstract
For many animals, maintaining a specific range of temperatures during offspring development is critical for the survival of the young. While this is most studied in birds and mammals, some insects regulate nest temperatures to create an ideal environment for larval development. Here, we explore the thermoregulatory fanning behavior in honeybees performed to maintain colony temperatures in the presence of larvae. We found that honeybees are more likely to fan when larvae are present, but need direct contact with larvae to fan. We found no evidence that exposure to brood pheromone plays a role in stimulating fanning behavior. Finally, we saw a shift in the fanning response seasonally. These results show that the presence of developing offspring influences the fanning response in honeybees and help us to understand how honeybee colonies achieve the fine thermoregulation necessary for healthy larval development.
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Acknowledgments
This research could not have been done without the excellent lab assistance of Chloe Ramsay. Our deep thanks go to the Breed lab and the Animal Behavior Reading Group for all of your great comments and input. Thank you to Science Discovery for providing lab space. Our immense gratitude goes to John Borden, who encouraged this project, and others at Contech Inc., who provided us with brood pheromone. We thank the editor and reviewers for helpful comments. Thank you to our funding sources, including the Animal Behavior Society, the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology department and The Graduate School at the University of Colorado, Boulder.
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Cook, C.N., Durzi, S., Scheckel, K.J. et al. Larvae influence thermoregulatory fanning behavior in honeybees (Apis mellifera L.). Insect. Soc. 63, 271–278 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00040-016-0463-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00040-016-0463-5