@article {129506, title = {Diverse communication strategies in bees as a window into adaptations to an unpredictable world.}, journal = {Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A}, volume = {120}, year = {2023}, month = {2023 Jun 13}, pages = {e2219031120}, abstract = {

Communication is a fundamental feature of animal societies and helps their members to solve the challenges they encounter, from exploiting food sources to fighting enemies or finding a new home. Eusocial bees inhabit a wide range of environments and they have evolved a multitude of communication signals that help them exploit resources in their environment efficiently. We highlight recent advances in our understanding of bee communication strategies and discuss how variation in social biology, such as colony size or nesting habits, and ecological conditions are important drivers of variation in communication strategies. Anthropogenic factors, such as habitat conversion, climate change, or the use of agrochemicals, are changing the world bees inhabit, and it is becoming clear that this affects communication both directly and indirectly, for example by affecting food source availability, social interactions among nestmates, and cognitive functions. Whether and how bees adapt their foraging and communication strategies to these changes represents a new frontier in bee behavioral and conservation research.

}, keywords = {Acclimatization, Animals, Bees, Communication, Ecosystem}, issn = {1091-6490}, doi = {10.1073/pnas.2219031120}, author = {Alves, Denise A and George, Ebi A and Kaur, Rajbir and Brockmann, Axel and Hrncir, Michael and Gr{\"u}ter, Christoph} } @article {135864, title = {Nutritional properties of giant water bug, a traditional edible insect species of North-East India.}, journal = {Bioengineered}, volume = {14}, year = {2023}, month = {2023 Dec}, pages = {2252669}, abstract = {

Edible insects play an important role in human health and food security. Among those, the Giant water bug, (Lep.\& Ser.) is a widely used edible insect known for its aroma, flavor, and therapeutic purposes. In the present study, we investigated the nutritional profile, natural habitat, and feeding behavior of in aquarium conditions. A comparative analysis of male and female insects{\textquoteright} aroma contents and fatty acid (FA) profiles was also conducted. A dry fried male insect yielded volatile oil of 0.96\%/2 g body weight, whereas a dry fried female yielded 0.48\%/5.36 g of body weight. In terms of lipids, fresh male insects had 0.15\%/5.42 g of body weight and fresh female insects had 0.28\%/9.48 g of body weight. There are 24 volatile compounds specific to males, 37 specific to females, and 13 commons to both were identified. 2-Hexen-1-ol, acetate, (Z)- which smells like banana, was prevalently found in males while 4-Octene, 2,6-dimethyl-, [S-(Z)] was prevalently found in female insects. Fatty acids profile analysis detected 32 FA with 12 unique FA from males whereas 22 FA and 3 unique FA were identified from female insects. The SFA percentage present in males and females was 77.44\% and 85.21\%. Males had 6.78\% MUFA content while females have 4.75\%. Males have 18\% PUFA content enriched with DHA, and EPA, while females had 10.04\%. This study revealed that with the presence of a banana-like smell of volatile compound and more MUFA and PUFA in males, the native people of North-East India preferred male over female insects for entomophagy.

}, keywords = {Animals, Body Weight, Edible Insects, Feeding Behavior, Female, India, Male, Nutritive Value}, issn = {2165-5987}, doi = {10.1080/21655979.2023.2252669}, author = {Devi, Mutum R and Ummalyma, Sabeela B and Brockmann, Axel and Raina, Vishakha and Rajashekar, Yallappa} } @article {137339, title = {Tracking Sugar-Elicited Local Searching Behavior in Drosophila.}, journal = {J Vis Exp}, year = {2023}, month = {2023 Nov 17}, abstract = {

Foraging behavior is essential for the survival of organisms as it enables them to locate and acquire essential food resources. In Drosophila, hunger triggers a distinct search behavior following the consumption of small quantities of a sugar solution. This report presents a simple experimental setup to study sugar-elicited search behavior with the aim of uncovering the underlying mechanisms. Minute quantities of concentrated sugar solution elicit sustained searching behavior in flies. The involvement of path integration in this behavior has been established, as flies utilize their trajectory to return to the sugar location. The most recent findings provide evidence of temporal modulation in the initiation and intensity of the search behavior after sugar intake. We have also used this setup for artificial activation of specific taste-receptor neurons in the pharynx, which elicits the search behavior. The Drosophila neurogenetic toolkit offers a diverse array of tools and techniques that can be combined with the sugar-elicited search behavior paradigm to study the neural and genetic mechanisms underlying foraging. Understanding the neural basis of hunger-driven searching behavior in flies contributes to the field of neurobiology as a whole, offering insights into the regulatory mechanisms that govern feeding behaviors not only in other organisms but also in humans.

}, keywords = {Animals, Appetitive Behavior, Carbohydrates, Drosophila, Drosophila melanogaster, Drosophila Proteins, Feeding Behavior, Humans, Sugars}, issn = {1940-087X}, doi = {10.3791/65955}, author = {Shakeel, Manal and Kaushik, Shivam and Tanimura, Teiichi and Brockmann, Axel and Kain, Pinky} } @article {115044, title = {Increased complexity of worker CHC profiles in Apis dorsata correlates with nesting ecology.}, journal = {PLoS One}, volume = {17}, year = {2022}, month = {2022}, pages = {e0271745}, abstract = {

Cuticular hydrocarbons (CHC) are known to serve as discrimination cues and will trigger defence behaviour in a plethora of eusocial insects. However, little is known how about nestmate recognition ability selects for CHC diversification. In this study we investigate differences in CHC composition of four major honey bee species with respect to the differences in their nesting behavior. In contrast to A. mellifera, A. cerana and A. florea, the giant honey bee A. dorsata prefers to build their nests in aggregations with very small spatial distances between nests, which increases the probability of intrusions. Thus, A. dorsata exhibits a particularly challenging nesting behavior which we hypothesize should be accompanied with an improved nestmate recognition system. Comparative analyses of the worker CHC profiles indicate that A. dorsata workers exhibit a unique and more complex CHC profile than the other three honey bee species. This increased complexity is likely based on a developmental process that retains the capability to synthesize methyl-branched hydrocarbons as adults. Furthermore, two sets of behavioral experiments provide evidence that A. dorsata shows an improved nestmate discrimination ability compared to the phylogenetically ancestral A. florea, which is also open-nesting but does not form nest aggregations. The results of our study suggest that ecological traits like nesting in aggregation might be able to drive CHC profile diversification even in closely related insect species.

}, keywords = {Animals, Bees, Cues, Hydrocarbons, Nesting Behavior}, issn = {1932-6203}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0271745}, author = {Maihoff, Fabienne and Bohlke, Kyte and Brockmann, Axel and Schmitt, Thomas} }