The ant’s weapon improves honey bee learning performance
Abstract Formic acid is the main component of the ant’s major weapon against enemies. Being mainly used as a chemical defense, the acid is also exploited for recruitment and trail marking. The repelling effect of the organic acid is used by some mammals and birds which rub themselves in the acid to...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2023-05-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-35540-7 |
| _version_ | 1797817986884567040 |
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| author | Antonia Bachert Ricarda Scheiner |
| author_facet | Antonia Bachert Ricarda Scheiner |
| author_sort | Antonia Bachert |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Formic acid is the main component of the ant’s major weapon against enemies. Being mainly used as a chemical defense, the acid is also exploited for recruitment and trail marking. The repelling effect of the organic acid is used by some mammals and birds which rub themselves in the acid to eliminate ectoparasites. Beekeepers across the world rely on this effect to control the parasitic mite Varroa destructor. Varroa mites are considered the most destructive pest of honey bees worldwide and can lead to the loss of entire colonies. Formic acid is highly effective against Varroa mites but can also kill the honeybee queen and worker brood. Whether formic acid can also affect the behavior of honey bees is unknown. We here study the effect of formic acid on sucrose responsiveness and cognition of honey bees treated at different live stages in field-relevant doses. Both behaviors are essential for survival of the honey bee colony. Rather unexpectedly, formic acid clearly improved the learning performance of the bees in appetitive olfactory conditioning, while not affecting sucrose responsiveness. This exciting side effect of formic acid certainly deserves further detailed investigations. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T09:01:38Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-704d910efb8643e98b7492d9503971ce |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T09:01:38Z |
| publishDate | 2023-05-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-704d910efb8643e98b7492d9503971ce2023-05-28T11:16:41ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222023-05-011311710.1038/s41598-023-35540-7The ant’s weapon improves honey bee learning performanceAntonia Bachert0Ricarda Scheiner1Behavioral Physiology and Sociobiology, University of WürzburgBehavioral Physiology and Sociobiology, University of WürzburgAbstract Formic acid is the main component of the ant’s major weapon against enemies. Being mainly used as a chemical defense, the acid is also exploited for recruitment and trail marking. The repelling effect of the organic acid is used by some mammals and birds which rub themselves in the acid to eliminate ectoparasites. Beekeepers across the world rely on this effect to control the parasitic mite Varroa destructor. Varroa mites are considered the most destructive pest of honey bees worldwide and can lead to the loss of entire colonies. Formic acid is highly effective against Varroa mites but can also kill the honeybee queen and worker brood. Whether formic acid can also affect the behavior of honey bees is unknown. We here study the effect of formic acid on sucrose responsiveness and cognition of honey bees treated at different live stages in field-relevant doses. Both behaviors are essential for survival of the honey bee colony. Rather unexpectedly, formic acid clearly improved the learning performance of the bees in appetitive olfactory conditioning, while not affecting sucrose responsiveness. This exciting side effect of formic acid certainly deserves further detailed investigations.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-35540-7 |
| spellingShingle | Antonia Bachert Ricarda Scheiner The ant’s weapon improves honey bee learning performance Scientific Reports |
| title | The ant’s weapon improves honey bee learning performance |
| title_full | The ant’s weapon improves honey bee learning performance |
| title_fullStr | The ant’s weapon improves honey bee learning performance |
| title_full_unstemmed | The ant’s weapon improves honey bee learning performance |
| title_short | The ant’s weapon improves honey bee learning performance |
| title_sort | ant s weapon improves honey bee learning performance |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-35540-7 |
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