The contributions of kinship and conditioning to nest recognition and colony member recognition in a primitively eusocial bee, Lasioglossum zephyrum (Hymenoptera: Halictidae)

Summary

• 1. In the primitively social halictine bee, Lasioglossum zephyrum, colony unity is maintained through an interplay of both nest recognition and nest mate recognition, using odor cues.

• 2. Nests have odors which are attractive to members of their colonies and also to bees from other colonies. Bees are, however, usually able to distinguish between their own nest and a foreign nest if given a choice.

• 3. Bees from colonies which are relatively homogeneous genetically and in which the bees share a common larval environment recognize their own nest with less difficulty than bees from genetically heterogenous colonies in which a common early environment is lacking among member bees.

• 4. A significant component of nest recognition behavior is based on genetic homogeneity, and/or larval conditioning, perhaps a form of imprinting to chemical cues.

• 5. Recognition of nestmates by guards, essential for intraspecific nest defense, seems not to be based on the aphrodisiac secreted by females.

• 6. Guards apparently learn individual odors of residents or a combination of the odors of several residents, providing a mechanism for distinguishing between nest mates and intruders attempting to enter the nest.

• 7. Though adult learning is important in nest mate recognition, an overriding contribution from genetic similarity or early conditioning also occurs.