Association between behavior and detoxification in honey bee

The western honey bee, Apis mellifera, is an important managed pollinator for agricultural ecosystems. This species has been considered sensitive to environmental xenobiotics. The question arises as to whether their strategy for dealing with xenobiotics encompasses alternatives to biochemical detoxification. I hypothesize that eusocial behaviors of the western honey bee contribute to detoxification of xenobiotics at the colony level. This study will characterize the relationship between social behaviors and carboxylesterase detoxification enzymes, which comprise one enzyme superfamily that may contribute to xenobiotic detoxification. In this study, I will compare nectar / honey and fresh pollen / bee bread xenobiotic contents to check the extent to which “food processing” behavior contributes to detoxification. In addition, esterase activities will be examined to determine whether they are involved in honey bee detoxification of xenobiotics.