Recruitment behavior in stingless bees, Melipona scutellaris and M. quadrifasciata. II. Possible mechanisms of communication

Free access article

Issue		Apidologie Volume 31, Number 1, January-Febuary 2000


Page(s)		93 - 113
DOI		10.1051/apido:2000109

DOI: 10.1051/apido:2000109

Apidologie 31 (2000) 93-113

Recruitment behavior in stingless bees, Melipona scutellaris and M. quadrifasciata. II. Possible mechanisms of communication

Michael Hrncir ${^{\rm a}}$ , Stefan Jarau ${^{\rm a}}$ , Ronaldo Zucchi ${^{\rm b}}$ , Friedrich G. Barth ${^{\rm a}}$

${^{\rm a}}$ Universität Wien, Biozentrum, Institut für Zoologie, Abteilung Physiologie - Neurobiologie, Althanstraße 14, A-1090 Wien, Austria
${^{\rm b}}$ Universidade de São Paulo, Faculdade de Filosofia e Letras, Departamento de Biologia 14040-901 Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil

(Received 28 April 1999; revised 6 September 1999; accepted 22 September 1999)

Abstract:

To find out what foragers of the stingless bees Melipona scutellaris and M. quadrifasciata actually do while recruiting nestmates to a food source we videotaped their behavior in the nest and simultaneously recorded the sounds and vibrations produced by them when returning from a rich food source. Neither temporal nor spectral characteristics of the sounds and vibrations correlated significantly with distance or direction to the food. Foragers motivated recruits to search for food at random by a "jostling run''. The number of jostles by a forager correlates with the number of collecting bees. There was no correlation between the movements of a returning forager and either distance or direction to the feeder. "Zigzag flights'', guiding flights and scent marking of foragers were excluded as a way to communicate the location of the food source. Aside from the indication of the mere existence of a food source the mechanisms by which foragers communicate its location are still obscure.

stingless bee / recruitment / mechanisms of communication / Melipona species / vibratory signaling

Correspondence and reprints: Friedrich G. Barth
friedrich.g.barth@univie.ac.at

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