Do honeybees (Apis mellifera) differentiate between different pollen types?
Zitieren Sie bitte immer diese URN: urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-177537
- Bees receive nectar and pollen as reward for pollinating plants. Pollen of different plant species varies widely in nutritional composition. In order to select pollen of appropriate nutritional quality, bees would benefit if they could distinguish different pollen types. Whether they rely on visual, olfactory and/or chemotactile cues to distinguish between different pollen types, has however been little studied. In this study, we examined whether and how Apis mellifera workers differentiate between almond and apple pollen. We used differentialBees receive nectar and pollen as reward for pollinating plants. Pollen of different plant species varies widely in nutritional composition. In order to select pollen of appropriate nutritional quality, bees would benefit if they could distinguish different pollen types. Whether they rely on visual, olfactory and/or chemotactile cues to distinguish between different pollen types, has however been little studied. In this study, we examined whether and how Apis mellifera workers differentiate between almond and apple pollen. We used differential proboscis extension response conditioning with olfactory and chemotactile stimulation, in light and darkness, and in summer and winter bees. We found that honeybees were only able to differentiate between different pollen types, when they could use both chemotactile and olfactory cues. Visual cues further improved learning performance. Summer bees learned faster than winter bees. Our results thus highlight the importance of multisensory information for pollen discrimination.…
Autor(en): | Fabian A. Ruedenauer, Christine Wöhrle, Johannes Spaethe, Sara D. LeonhardtORCiD |
---|---|
URN: | urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-177537 |
Dokumentart: | Artikel / Aufsatz in einer Zeitschrift |
Institute der Universität: | Medizinische Fakultät / Theodor-Boveri-Institut für Biowissenschaften |
Sprache der Veröffentlichung: | Englisch |
Titel des übergeordneten Werkes / der Zeitschrift (Englisch): | PLoS ONE |
Erscheinungsjahr: | 2018 |
Band / Jahrgang: | 13 |
Heft / Ausgabe: | 11 |
Seitenangabe: | e0205821 |
Originalveröffentlichung / Quelle: | PLoS ONE 13(11):e0205821 (2018). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0205821 |
DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0205821 |
Allgemeine fachliche Zuordnung (DDC-Klassifikation): | 5 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik / 59 Tiere (Zoologie) / 595 Arthropoden (Gliederfüßer) |
Freie Schlagwort(e): | bees; behavioral conditioning; conditioned response; foraging; honey bees; nutrients; pollen; sensory cues |
Datum der Freischaltung: | 11.04.2019 |
Sammlungen: | Open-Access-Publikationsfonds / Förderzeitraum 2018 |
Lizenz (Deutsch): | CC BY: Creative-Commons-Lizenz: Namensnennung 4.0 International |