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Intracolonial genetic diversity in honeybee (Apis mellifera) colonies increases pollen foraging efficiency

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Abstract

Multiple mating by honeybee queens results in colonies of genotypically diverse workers. Recent studies have demonstrated that increased genetic diversity within a honeybee colony increases the variation in the frequency of tasks performed by workers. We show that genotypically diverse colonies, each composed of 20 subfamilies, collect more pollen than do genotypically similar colonies, each composed of a single subfamily. However, genotypically similar colonies collect greater varieties of pollen than do genotypically diverse colonies. Further, the composition of collected pollen types is less similar among genotypically similar colonies than among genotypically diverse colonies. The response threshold model predicts that genotypic subsets of workers vary in their response to task stimuli. Consistent with this model, our findings suggest that genotypically diverse colonies likely send out fewer numbers of foragers that independently search for pollen sources (scouts) in response to protein demand by the colony, resulting in a lower variety of collected pollen types. The cooperative foraging strategy of honeybees involves a limited number of scouts monitoring the environment that then guide the majority of foragers to high quality food sources. The genetic composition of the colony appears to play an important role in the efficiency of this behavior.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Tom Glenn for producing the instrumentally inseminated queens and to John Jones for identification of pollen grains. Thanks also to Ruben Alarcon for statistical guidance and to Mona Chambers, Morgan Caseman, Delayne Caseman, and Maurisa Two Two for help with the bees. Linda Eckholm, Tim Griffith, and two anonymous reviewers provided helpful comments that greatly improved the manuscript. This experiment complied with current guidelines and regulations concerning subject handling. The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Entomology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA

    Bruce J. Eckholm & Milagra Weiss

  2. Carl Hayden Bee Research Center, USDA-ARS, 2000 East Allen Road, Tucson, AZ, 85719, USA

    Kirk E. Anderson & Gloria DeGrandi-Hoffman

Authors
  1. Bruce J. Eckholm
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  2. Kirk E. Anderson
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  3. Milagra Weiss
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  4. Gloria DeGrandi-Hoffman
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Correspondence to Bruce J. Eckholm.

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Communicated by R. Moritz

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Online Resource 1

Identification and frequencies of pollen types collected by honey bee colonies between 19-Aug-2008 and 17-Sep-2008 in Tucson, Arizona USA. Sampling periods 1, 2, and 3 occurred from 19-Aug-2008 to 28-Aug-2008, 29-Aug-2008 to 07-Sep-2008, and 08-Sep-2008 to 17-Sep-2008, respectively. Pollen types were identified via 500-grain pollen count using light microscopy. Samples were collected from each colony at the end of each sampling period.(XLS 46 kb)

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Eckholm, B.J., Anderson, K.E., Weiss, M. et al. Intracolonial genetic diversity in honeybee (Apis mellifera) colonies increases pollen foraging efficiency. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 65, 1037–1044 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-010-1108-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-010-1108-8

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