Honeybees generalize among pollen scents from plants flowering in the same seasonal period

When honey bees (Apis mellifera) feed on flowers, they extend their proboscis to absorb the nectar, i.e. they perform the proboscis extension response (PER). The presence of pollen and/or nectar can be associated with odors, colors or visual patterns, which allows honey bees to recognize food source...

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Main Authors: Pietrantuono, Ana Laura, Requier, Fabrice, Fernandez Arhex, Valeria Cristina, Winter, Josefina, Huerta, Guillermo Jose, Guerrieri, Fernando
Format: info:ar-repo/semantics/artículo
Language:Inglés
Published: The Company of Biologists 2019
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/6488
https://jeb.biologists.org/content/222/21/jeb201335
https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.201335
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author Pietrantuono, Ana Laura
Requier, Fabrice
Fernandez Arhex, Valeria Cristina
Winter, Josefina
Huerta, Guillermo Jose
Guerrieri, Fernando
author_browse Fernandez Arhex, Valeria Cristina
Guerrieri, Fernando
Huerta, Guillermo Jose
Pietrantuono, Ana Laura
Requier, Fabrice
Winter, Josefina
author_facet Pietrantuono, Ana Laura
Requier, Fabrice
Fernandez Arhex, Valeria Cristina
Winter, Josefina
Huerta, Guillermo Jose
Guerrieri, Fernando
author_sort Pietrantuono, Ana Laura
collection INTA Digital
description When honey bees (Apis mellifera) feed on flowers, they extend their proboscis to absorb the nectar, i.e. they perform the proboscis extension response (PER). The presence of pollen and/or nectar can be associated with odors, colors or visual patterns, which allows honey bees to recognize food sources in the environment. Honey bees can associate similar, though different, stimuli with the presence of food; i.e. honey bees discriminate and generalize among stimuli. Here, we evaluated generalization among pollen scents from six different plant species. Experiments were based on the PER conditioning protocol over two phases: (1) conditioning, in which honey bees associated the scent of each pollen type with sucrose, and (2) test, in which honey bees were presented with a novel scent, to evaluate generalization. Generalization was evinced by honey bees extending their proboscis to a novel scent. The level of PER increased over the course of the conditioning phase for all pollen scents. Honey bees generalized pollen from Pyracantha coccinea and from Hypochaeris radicata. These two plants have different amounts of protein and are not taxonomically related. We observed that the flowering period influences the olfactory perceptual similarity and we suggest that both pollen types may share volatile compounds that play key roles in perception. Our results highlight the importance of analyzing the implications of the generalization between pollen types of different nutritional quality. Such studies could provide valuable information for beekeepers and agricultural producers, as the generalization of a higher quality pollen can benefit hive development, and increase pollination and honey production.
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institution Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA -Argentina)
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spelling INTA64882019-12-12T10:57:45Z Honeybees generalize among pollen scents from plants flowering in the same seasonal period Pietrantuono, Ana Laura Requier, Fabrice Fernandez Arhex, Valeria Cristina Winter, Josefina Huerta, Guillermo Jose Guerrieri, Fernando Apidae Abeja Melífera Polen Honey Bees Pollen When honey bees (Apis mellifera) feed on flowers, they extend their proboscis to absorb the nectar, i.e. they perform the proboscis extension response (PER). The presence of pollen and/or nectar can be associated with odors, colors or visual patterns, which allows honey bees to recognize food sources in the environment. Honey bees can associate similar, though different, stimuli with the presence of food; i.e. honey bees discriminate and generalize among stimuli. Here, we evaluated generalization among pollen scents from six different plant species. Experiments were based on the PER conditioning protocol over two phases: (1) conditioning, in which honey bees associated the scent of each pollen type with sucrose, and (2) test, in which honey bees were presented with a novel scent, to evaluate generalization. Generalization was evinced by honey bees extending their proboscis to a novel scent. The level of PER increased over the course of the conditioning phase for all pollen scents. Honey bees generalized pollen from Pyracantha coccinea and from Hypochaeris radicata. These two plants have different amounts of protein and are not taxonomically related. We observed that the flowering period influences the olfactory perceptual similarity and we suggest that both pollen types may share volatile compounds that play key roles in perception. Our results highlight the importance of analyzing the implications of the generalization between pollen types of different nutritional quality. Such studies could provide valuable information for beekeepers and agricultural producers, as the generalization of a higher quality pollen can benefit hive development, and increase pollination and honey production. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Bariloche Fil: Pietrantuono, Ana Laura. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Bariloche. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Forestales y Agropecuarias Bariloche; Argentina Fil: Requier, Fabrice. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. CCT Patagonia Norte; Argentina Fil: Fernandez Arhex, Valeria Cristina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Bariloche. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Forestales y Agropecuarias Bariloche; Argentina Fil: Winter, Josefina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Industrial; Argentina Fil: Huerta, Guillermo Jose. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Bariloche. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Forestales y Agropecuarias Bariloche; Argentina Fil: Guerrieri, Fernando. Université de Tours. Institut de Recherche sur la Biologie de l'Insecte; Francia 2019-12-12T10:44:59Z 2019-12-12T10:44:59Z 2019-11 info:ar-repo/semantics/artículo info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/6488 https://jeb.biologists.org/content/222/21/jeb201335 0022-0949 1477-9145 https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.201335 eng info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess application/pdf The Company of Biologists Journal of Experimental Biology 222 (November 2019)
spellingShingle Apidae
Abeja Melífera
Polen
Honey Bees
Pollen
Pietrantuono, Ana Laura
Requier, Fabrice
Fernandez Arhex, Valeria Cristina
Winter, Josefina
Huerta, Guillermo Jose
Guerrieri, Fernando
Honeybees generalize among pollen scents from plants flowering in the same seasonal period
title Honeybees generalize among pollen scents from plants flowering in the same seasonal period
title_full Honeybees generalize among pollen scents from plants flowering in the same seasonal period
title_fullStr Honeybees generalize among pollen scents from plants flowering in the same seasonal period
title_full_unstemmed Honeybees generalize among pollen scents from plants flowering in the same seasonal period
title_short Honeybees generalize among pollen scents from plants flowering in the same seasonal period
title_sort honeybees generalize among pollen scents from plants flowering in the same seasonal period
topic Apidae
Abeja Melífera
Polen
Honey Bees
Pollen
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/6488
https://jeb.biologists.org/content/222/21/jeb201335
https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.201335
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