Free Access
| Issue |
Apidologie
Volume 31, Number 6, November/December 2000
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|---|---|---|
| Page(s) | 727 - 736 | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1051/apido:2000157 | |
DOI: 10.1051/apido:2000157
Apidologie 31 (2000) 727-736
The predator-prey interaction between blue-bearded bee eaters (Nyctyornis athertoni Jardine and Selby 1830) and giant honeybees (Apis dorsata Fabricius 1798)
Gerald Kastbergera - D.K. Sharmab
aDepartment of Zoology, University of Graz, 8010 Graz, Universitätsplatz 2, Austria
bDepartment of Zoology, Gauhati University, Assam, India
(
Abstract:
We investigated the interaction between raiding blue-bearded bee eaters (Nyctyornis athertoni) and
counter-attacking bees in an aggregation of 50 giant honeybee (Apis dorsata) colonies on a bee tree
in Assam, India. We filmed two scenarios with an Arriflex camera at 150 frames per second: first, the bee
eater passed parallel to a nest, threatening only the sunny side of the colony, and second, the bird
passed a nest laterally in a perpendicular direction, eliciting release of a great number of guard bees
from both sides of the colony. In the first scenario, we assessed more than 700 bees in the mass release,
comprising 2-3 per cent of colony members. We found the first evidence for intercolonial group defence in
Apis dorsata, which means that colonies or parts of them, which were not directly threatened, joined
the defence action of the threatened colony. We discuss how unthreatened nests or parts of them can be
challenged for mass release of guard bees.
Keywords:
Apis dorsata / giant honeybee / bee eater / predator-prey interaction / defence behaviour
Correspondence and reprints: Gerald Kastberger
gerald.kastberger@kfunigraz.ac.at
Copyright INRA/DIB/AGIB/EDP Sciences