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Neurochemicals aid bee nestmate recognition

Nature volume 399, pages 534–535 (1999)Cite this article

Abstract

The theory of kin selection1, which revolutionized the study of social behaviour, requires the discrimination of relatives from non-relatives. Many animals possess this ability, but the underlying neurobiological mechanisms have not been studied. Here we provide evidence for the neurochemical modulation of nestmate recognition: treatment with octopamine agonists improves the discrimination of related nestmates from unrelated non-nestmates in honeybees.

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Figure 1: Effect of octopamine agonists on nestmate recognition in honeybees: a, XAMI; b, DCDM; c, DCDM plus mianserin (an

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Entomology, University of Illinois, Urbana, 61801, Illinois, USA

    Gene E. Robinson & Laura M. Heuser

  2. Neuroscience Program, University of Illinois, Urbana, 61801, Illinois, USA

    Gene E. Robinson

  3. INRA, Unite de Zoologie, Laboratoire de Biologie de L'Abeille, F-84914 Avignon Cedex 9, France

    Yves LeConte & Frederic Lenquette

  4. CNRS, Laboratoire de Neurobiologie-Communication Chimique, F-13402 Marseille Cedex 9, France

    Frederic Lenquette

  5. Pesticide Research Center and Department of Entomology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, 48824, Michigan, USA

    Robert M. Hollingworth

Authors
  1. Gene E. Robinson
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  2. Laura M. Heuser
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  3. Yves LeConte
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  4. Frederic Lenquette
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  5. Robert M. Hollingworth
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Robinson, G., Heuser, L., LeConte, Y. et al. Neurochemicals aid bee nestmate recognition. Nature 399, 534–535 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1038/21095

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