Monday, December 11, 2006
D0056

Effects of ovariole development on division of labor and task specialization in the honey bee, Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

Adam J. Siegel, adam.siegel@asu.edu, Osman Kaftanoglu, osman.kaftanoglu@asu.edu, M. Kim Fondrk, michael.fondrk@asu.edu, and Robert Page, robert.page@asu.edu. Arizona State University, School of Life Sciences, P.O. Box 874601, Tempe, AZ

Insect behavior is often correlated with physiology. Foraging task specialization, division of labor and ovariale development in honey bee workers demonstrate this relationship. We used selective breeding programs paired with observation hive studies to look at this system. European honey bees disruptively bred only for pollen hoarding behavior showed changes in both temporal division of labor and ovariale number. Strains of Africanized bees that were bred for ovarole number but not for any behavioral characteristic demonstrated changes in foraging behavior. Our results suggest a close interlinkage between reproductive development and behavioral phenotype. This may be the basis for development of specialized castes


Species 1: Hymenoptera Apidae Apis mellifera (Honey bee)