@article {91959, title = {Distance estimation by Asian honey bees in two visually different landscapes.}, journal = {J Exp Biol}, year = {2021}, month = {2021 Apr 01}, abstract = {

Honey bees estimate distances to food sources using image motion experienced on the flight path and they use this measure to tune the waggle phase duration in their dance communication. Most studies on the dance-related odometer are based on experiments with foragers trained into small tunnels with black and white patterns which allowed quantifiable changes in the optic flow. In this study, we determined the calibration curves of two Asian honey bee species, and , in two different natural environments with clear differences in the vegetation conditions and hence visual contrast. We found that the dense vegetation condition (with higher contrast) elicited a more rapid increase in the waggle phase duration with distance than the sparse vegetation in but not in Our findings suggest that contrast sensitivity of the waggle dance odometer might vary among honey bee species.

}, issn = {1477-9145}, doi = {10.1242/jeb.242404}, author = {George, Ebi Antony and Thulasi, Neethu and Kohl, Patrick L and Suresh, Sachin and Rutschmann, Benjamin and Brockmann, Axel} } @article {74446, title = {Adaptive evolution of honeybee dance dialects.}, journal = {Proc Biol Sci}, volume = {287}, year = {2020}, month = {2020 Mar 11}, pages = {20200190}, abstract = {

Efficient communication is highly important for the evolutionary success of social animals. Honeybees (genus ) are unique in that they communicate the spatial information of resources using a symbolic {\textquoteright}language{\textquoteright}, the waggle dance. Different honeybee species differ in foraging ecology but it remains unknown whether this shaped variation in the dance. We studied distance dialects-interspecific differences in how waggle duration relates to flight distance-and tested the hypothesis that these evolved to maximize communication precision over the bees{\textquoteright} foraging ranges. We performed feeder experiments with , and in India and found that had the steepest dialect, i.e. a rapid increase in waggle duration with increasing feeder distance, had an intermediate, and had the lowest dialect. By decoding dances for natural food sites, we inferred that the foraging range was smallest in , intermediate in and largest in . The inverse correlation between foraging range and dialect was corroborated when comparing six (sub)species across the geographical range of the genus including previously published data. We conclude that dance dialects constitute adaptations resulting from a trade-off between the spatial range and the spatial accuracy of communication.

}, issn = {1471-2954}, doi = {10.1098/rspb.2020.0190}, author = {Kohl, Patrick L and Thulasi, Neethu and Rutschmann, Benjamin and George, Ebi A and Steffan-Dewenter, Ingolf and Brockmann, Axel} } @article {85849, title = {Similarities in dance follower behaviour across honey bee species suggest a conserved mechanism of dance communication}, journal = {ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR}, volume = {169}, year = {2020}, month = {11/2020}, pages = {139-155}, abstract = {

Social communication systems are predominantly multimodal and can combine modulatory and information-bearing signals. The honey bee waggle dance, one of the most elaborate forms of social communication in animals, activates nestmates to search for food and communicates symbolic information about the location of the food source. Previous studies on the dance behaviour in diverse honey bee species demonstrated distinct differences in the concurrence of visual, auditory, olfactory and tactile signals produced by the dancer. We studied the behaviour of dance signal receivers, the dance followers, to explore the potential significance of different signals in the communication process. In particular, we asked whether the behaviour of dance followers differs between the three major Asian honey bee species, Apis florea, Apis dorsata and Apis cerana, and whether this might correlate with the differences in the signals produced by the dancing foragers. Our comparison demonstrated that the behaviour of the dance followers is highly similar across all three species. The mean body orientation of the dance followers with respect to the waggle dancer was close to 90 degrees throughout the run, with the majority positioning themselves lateral to the dancer. These findings suggest that the communication of spatial information might be more conserved than implied by the differences in the signals produced by the dancer. Along with studies in Apis mellifera, our results suggest that all honey bee species rely on tactile contacts between the dancer and follower to communicate spatial information. The cues and signals that differ between the species may be involved in attracting the followers towards the dancer or increasing their motivation to start foraging in the different nest environments. (C) 2020 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

}, doi = {10.1016/j.anbehav.2020.09.011}, author = {George, Ebi Antony and Pimplikar, Smruti and Thulasi, Neethu and Brockmann, Axel} }