- Title
- Cooperative wasp-killing by mixed-species colonies of honeybees, Apis cerana and Apis mellifera
- Creator
- Tan, K, Yang, M-Y, Li, H, Zhang, Z-L, Radloff, Sarah E, Hepburn, H Randall
- Date
- 2012
- Type
- text
- Type
- Article
- Identifier
- vital:6838
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1010979
- Identifier
- http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s13592-011-0098-5
- Description
- The cooperative defensive behaviour of mixed-species colonies of honeybees, Apis cerana and Apis mellifera, were tested against a predatory wasp, Vespa velutina. When vespine wasps hawk honeybees at their nest entrances, the difference in the numbers of bees involved in heat-balling among pure species and mixed-species colonies was not significantly different. However, in the mixed colonies, the numbers of A. cerana and A. mellifera workers involved in heat-balling were significantly different. The duration of heat-balling among these three groups was significantly different. During heat-balling, guard bees of both species in mixed colonies raised their thoracic temperatures and the core temperatures of the heat-balls were about 45°C, which is not significantly different from that of the pure species. These results suggest that the two species of honeybees can cooperate in joint heat-balling against the wasps, but A. cerana was more assertive in such defence.
- Format
- 6 pages, pdf
- Language
- English
- Relation
- Tan, K. and Yang, Ming-Xian and Li, H. and Zhang, Z-L. and Radloff, S.E. and Hepburn, H.R. (2012) Cooperative wasp-killing by mixed-species colonies of honeybees, Apis cerana and Apis mellifera. Apidologie, 43 (2). pp. 195-200. Available at : http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s13592-011-0098-5
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Radloff, Sarah (Prof)
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