✦ LIBER ✦
Metabolic test of volatile odor labels as kin recognition cues in honey bees
✍ Scribed by Moritz, Robin F. A. ;Southwick, Edward E.
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1987
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 372 KB
- Volume
- 243
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0022-104X
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
The ability of worker honey bees to discriminate between kin and non-kin was revealed using a metabolic bioassay. Groups of workers (test group) exposed to odors of unrelated bees (odor group) showed short-term increases in metabolic activity. The magnitude of the metabolic reaction was closely correlated with the genetic relationship between odor and test groups. Worker test groups reacted to both worker and drone odor groups whereas drone test groups did not respond in this bioassay. The results support the theory of inclusive fitness.