Selective modulation of task performance by octopamine in honey bee (Apis mellifera) division of labour

Andrew B. Barron; Gene E. Robinson

doi:10.1007/s00359-005-0619-7

Selective modulation of task performance by octopamine in honey bee (Apis mellifera) division of labour

Andrew B. Barron, Gene E. Robinson^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

56 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Octopamine treatment has previously been shown to increase honey bee foraging behaviour. We determined the effects of octopamine on other tasks to learn how octopamine affects division of labour in honey bee colonies. Octopamine treatment did not increase the rate of corpse removal from the hive, suggesting that elevated brain levels of octopamine do not act to increase the performance of all flight-related tasks. Octopamine treatment also did not increase attendance in the queen's retinue, suggesting that elevated brain levels of octopamine do not act to increase responsiveness to all olfactory stimuli. Consistent with these findings, octopamine treatment enhanced the foraging response to brood pheromone but not the cell capping response, a component of brood care. These results demonstrate a relatively specific form of neuromodulation by octopamine in the regulation of division of labour in honey bee colonies.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	659-668
Number of pages	10
Journal	Journal of Comparative Physiology A: Neuroethology, Sensory, Neural, and Behavioral Physiology
Volume	191
Issue number	7
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/s00359-005-0619-7
Publication status	Published - Jul 2005
Externally published	Yes

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title = "Selective modulation of task performance by octopamine in honey bee (Apis mellifera) division of labour",

abstract = "Octopamine treatment has previously been shown to increase honey bee foraging behaviour. We determined the effects of octopamine on other tasks to learn how octopamine affects division of labour in honey bee colonies. Octopamine treatment did not increase the rate of corpse removal from the hive, suggesting that elevated brain levels of octopamine do not act to increase the performance of all flight-related tasks. Octopamine treatment also did not increase attendance in the queen's retinue, suggesting that elevated brain levels of octopamine do not act to increase responsiveness to all olfactory stimuli. Consistent with these findings, octopamine treatment enhanced the foraging response to brood pheromone but not the cell capping response, a component of brood care. These results demonstrate a relatively specific form of neuromodulation by octopamine in the regulation of division of labour in honey bee colonies.",

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Selective modulation of task performance by octopamine in honey bee (Apis mellifera) division of labour

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