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Behavioral and Pharmacological Analysis of the Stinging Response in Africanized and Italian Bees

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Abstract

Sensitivity to a noxious stimulus was determined for the stinging response of Africanized and Italian bees. The more “aggressive” Africanized bees proved to be less sensitive (i.e., they responded with fewer stinging responses) than the more “gentle” Italian bees to the same nociceptive stimulation. Italian bees showed positive correlation of sensitivity with nectar flow during the year and the same seems to be true for Africanized bees during the day. Results obtained after morphine and naloxone + morphine treatment on bees suggest the existence of an endorphinic system for pain modulation, but its implication for the observed sensitivity changes is not yet known.

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© 1987 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heildelberg

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Balderrama, N., Díaz, H., Sequeda, A., Núnez, J., Maldonado, H. (1987). Behavioral and Pharmacological Analysis of the Stinging Response in Africanized and Italian Bees. In: Menzel, R., Mercer, A. (eds) Neurobiology and Behavior of Honeybees. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-71496-2_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-71496-2_11

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-71498-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-71496-2

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