TY - JOUR
T1 - The use of food source scent marks by the stingless bee Trigona corvina (Hymenoptera : Apidae): the importance of the depositor's identity
AU - Boogert, Neeltje Janna
AU - Hofstede, Frouke Elisabeth
AU - Monge, Ingrid Aguilar
PY - 2006
Y1 - 2006
N2 - The deposition and use of scent marks on food sources has been found in foraging solitary bees, bumblebees, stingless bees and honeybees. The widespread existence of this communication mechanism points to its ecological significance. The importance of the depositor's identity on the use of food source scent marks, however, has never been systematically investigated in the same bee species. Here we present strong evidence that individual foragers of the stingless bee species Trigona corvina scent marked a high quality food source and that they used their own scent marks to relocate it in choice experiments. T. corvina foragers showed a similar significant preference for a food source scent marked by their nest mates and by bees from a conspecific colony over a non-scent marked food source. However, no evidence for the use of scent marks deposited by other stingless bee species was found. The implications of these findings for the evolution of food source scent marking in bees are discussed.
AB - The deposition and use of scent marks on food sources has been found in foraging solitary bees, bumblebees, stingless bees and honeybees. The widespread existence of this communication mechanism points to its ecological significance. The importance of the depositor's identity on the use of food source scent marks, however, has never been systematically investigated in the same bee species. Here we present strong evidence that individual foragers of the stingless bee species Trigona corvina scent marked a high quality food source and that they used their own scent marks to relocate it in choice experiments. T. corvina foragers showed a similar significant preference for a food source scent marked by their nest mates and by bees from a conspecific colony over a non-scent marked food source. However, no evidence for the use of scent marks deposited by other stingless bee species was found. The implications of these findings for the evolution of food source scent marking in bees are discussed.
U2 - 10.1051/apido:2006001
DO - 10.1051/apido:2006001
M3 - Article
SN - 0044-8435
VL - 37
SP - 366
EP - 375
JO - Apidologie
JF - Apidologie
IS - 3
ER -