Experimental Wing Damage Affects Foraging Effort and Foraging Distance in Honeybees Apis mellifera
Bees acquire wing damage as they age, and loss of wing area affects longevity and behaviour. This may influence colony performance via effects on worker behaviour. The effects of experimental wing damage were studied in worker honeybees in observation hives by recording survivorship, how often and f...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2011-01-01
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| Series: | Psyche: A Journal of Entomology |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2011/419793 |
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| author | Andrew D. Higginson Christopher J. Barnard Adam Tofilski Luis Medina Francis Ratnieks |
| author_facet | Andrew D. Higginson Christopher J. Barnard Adam Tofilski Luis Medina Francis Ratnieks |
| author_sort | Andrew D. Higginson |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Bees acquire wing damage as they age, and loss of wing area affects longevity and behaviour. This may influence colony performance via effects on worker behaviour. The effects of experimental wing damage were studied in worker honeybees in observation hives by recording survivorship, how often and for how long bees foraged, and by decoding waggle dances. Mortality rate increased with both age and wing damage. Damaged bees carried out shorter and/or less frequent foraging trips, foraged closer to the hive, and reported the profitability of flower patches to be lower than did controls. These results suggest that wing damage caused a reduction in foraging ability, and that damaged bees adjusted their foraging behaviour accordingly. Furthermore, the results suggest that wing damage affects the profitability of nectar sources. These results have implications for the colony dynamics and foraging efficiency in honeybees. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-51244aca55e94fdd940df9525bb3059a |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0033-2615 1687-7438 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2011-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Psyche: A Journal of Entomology |
| spelling | doaj-art-51244aca55e94fdd940df9525bb3059a2025-08-20T03:36:37ZengWileyPsyche: A Journal of Entomology0033-26151687-74382011-01-01201110.1155/2011/419793419793Experimental Wing Damage Affects Foraging Effort and Foraging Distance in Honeybees Apis melliferaAndrew D. Higginson0Christopher J. Barnard1Adam Tofilski2Luis Medina3Francis Ratnieks4School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Woodland Road, Bristol BS8 1UG, UKSchool of Biology, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UKDepartment of Pomology and Apiculture, University of Agriculture in Krakow, 29 Listopada 54, 31-425 Krakow, PolandFacultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Merida, Yucatan 97100, MexicoDepartment of Biology and Environmental Science, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9QG, UKBees acquire wing damage as they age, and loss of wing area affects longevity and behaviour. This may influence colony performance via effects on worker behaviour. The effects of experimental wing damage were studied in worker honeybees in observation hives by recording survivorship, how often and for how long bees foraged, and by decoding waggle dances. Mortality rate increased with both age and wing damage. Damaged bees carried out shorter and/or less frequent foraging trips, foraged closer to the hive, and reported the profitability of flower patches to be lower than did controls. These results suggest that wing damage caused a reduction in foraging ability, and that damaged bees adjusted their foraging behaviour accordingly. Furthermore, the results suggest that wing damage affects the profitability of nectar sources. These results have implications for the colony dynamics and foraging efficiency in honeybees.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2011/419793 |
| spellingShingle | Andrew D. Higginson Christopher J. Barnard Adam Tofilski Luis Medina Francis Ratnieks Experimental Wing Damage Affects Foraging Effort and Foraging Distance in Honeybees Apis mellifera Psyche: A Journal of Entomology |
| title | Experimental Wing Damage Affects Foraging Effort and Foraging Distance in Honeybees Apis mellifera |
| title_full | Experimental Wing Damage Affects Foraging Effort and Foraging Distance in Honeybees Apis mellifera |
| title_fullStr | Experimental Wing Damage Affects Foraging Effort and Foraging Distance in Honeybees Apis mellifera |
| title_full_unstemmed | Experimental Wing Damage Affects Foraging Effort and Foraging Distance in Honeybees Apis mellifera |
| title_short | Experimental Wing Damage Affects Foraging Effort and Foraging Distance in Honeybees Apis mellifera |
| title_sort | experimental wing damage affects foraging effort and foraging distance in honeybees apis mellifera |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2011/419793 |
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