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ViewAttendees 5

10-Minute Paper

Physiology, Biochemistry, and Toxicology

PBT: Pollinators

Hangry bees: Environmental stimulus affects Apis mellifera aggression response

Tuesday, November 7, 2023
10:00 AM – 10:12 AM ET
Location: Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center, National Harbor 3
In-Person
Honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) are domestically kept due to their status as a generalist pollinator which can be relatively easily managed by humans for pollination services and honey production. Colonies with particularly aggressive tendencies are generally avoided when possible in breeding programs, and some subspecies of Apis mellifera are known to be more aggressive than others. However, aggression is not always an inherited trait. In this study we examined if an environmental stress such as a simulated nutritive stress induced increased aggression in colonies of Apis mellifera. We found that four weeks of simulated pollen deprivation caused the treatment colonies to be “hangry,” or to have significantly more aggressive behavior than their control counterparts. Investigations into which genes may be involved in this response are ongoing, and we are evaluating the expression of nine genes which are associated with both acute and chronic aggression responses in honey bees.