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Journal ArticleDOI

The biology of the honey bee

01 Sep 1988-Insectes Sociaux (Springer-Verlag)-Vol. 35, Iss: 3, pp 316-318
About: This article is published in Insectes Sociaux.The article was published on 1988-09-01. It has received 1355 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Honey bee life cycle & Worker bee.
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Journal ArticleDOI
26 Oct 2006-Nature
TL;DR: The genome sequence of the honeybee Apis mellifera is reported, suggesting a novel African origin for the species A. melliferA and insights into whether Africanized bees spread throughout the New World via hybridization or displacement.
Abstract: Here we report the genome sequence of the honeybee Apis mellifera, a key model for social behaviour and essential to global ecology through pollination. Compared with other sequenced insect genomes, the A. mellifera genome has high A+T and CpG contents, lacks major transposon families, evolves more slowly, and is more similar to vertebrates for circadian rhythm, RNA interference and DNA methylation genes, among others. Furthermore, A. mellifera has fewer genes for innate immunity, detoxification enzymes, cuticle-forming proteins and gustatory receptors, more genes for odorant receptors, and novel genes for nectar and pollen utilization, consistent with its ecology and social organization. Compared to Drosophila, genes in early developmental pathways differ in Apis, whereas similarities exist for functions that differ markedly, such as sex determination, brain function and behaviour. Population genetics suggests a novel African origin for the species A. mellifera and insights into whether Africanized bees spread throughout the New World via hybridization or displacement.

1,673 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is shown that the individuals (autonomous agents or biological creatures) will form a cohesive swarm in a finite time and an explicit bound on the swarm size is obtained, which depends only on the parameters of the swarm model.
Abstract: In this note, we specify an "individual-based" continuous-time model for swarm aggregation in n-dimensional space and study its stability properties. We show that the individuals (autonomous agents or biological creatures) will form a cohesive swarm in a finite time. Moreover, we obtain an explicit bound on the swarm size, which depends only on the parameters of the swarm model.

929 citations


Cites background from "The biology of the honey bee"

  • ...A colony of honey bees achieves a high level of organization via dynamic division of labor, communications, and distributed decision making [93, 92, 116]....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The links between metabolic rate andmaximum life span of mammals and birds as well as the linking role of membrane fatty acid composition in determining the maximum life span are reviewed.
Abstract: Maximum life span differences among animal species exceed life span variation achieved by experimental manipulation by orders of magnitude. The differences in the characteristic maximum life span o...

789 citations


Additional excerpts

  • ..., nonreproductive female) honeybees (373)....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Five major areas of reproductive conflict in insect societies are reviewed: (a) sex allocation, (b) queen rearing, (c) male rearing), (d) queen-worker caste fate, and (e) breeding conflicts among totipotent adults.
Abstract: Although best known for cooperation, insect societies also manifest many potential conflicts among individuals. These conflicts involve both direct reproduction by individuals and manipulation of the reproduction of colony members. Here we review five major areas of reproductive conflict in insect societies: (a) sex allocation, (b) queen rearing, (c) male rearing, (d) queen-worker caste fate, and (e) breeding conflicts among totipotent adults. For each area we discuss the basis for conflict (potential conflict), whether conflict is expressed (actual conflict), whose interests prevail (conflict outcome), and the factors that reduce colony-level costs of conflict (conflict resolution), such as factors that cause workers to work rather than to lay eggs. Reproductive conflicts are widespread, sometimes having dramatic effects on the colony. However, three key factors (kinship, coercion, and constraint) typically combine to limit the effects of reproductive conflict and often lead to complete resolution.

586 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The finding suggests that one mechanistic explanation for patterns of longevity in bees is that a reproductive regulatory pathway has been remodeled to extend life, and is of considerable relevance to research on longevity regulation that builds largely on inference from solitary model species.
Abstract: Research on aging shows that regulatory pathways of fertility and senescence are closely interlinked. However, evolutionary theories on social species propose that lifelong care for offspring can shape the course of senescence beyond the restricted context of reproductive capability. These observations suggest that control circuits of aging are remodeled in social organisms with continuing care for offspring. Here, we studied a circuit of aging in the honey bee (Apis mellifera). The bee is characterized by the presence of a long-lived reproductive queen caste and a shorter-lived caste of female workers that are life-long alloparental care givers. We focus on the role of the conserved yolk precursor gene vitellogenin that, in Caenorhabditis elegans, shortens lifespan as a downstream element of the insulin/insulin-like growth factor signaling cascade. Vitellogenin protein is synthesized at high levels in honey bee queens and is abundant in long-lived workers. We establish that vitellogenin gene activity protects worker bees from oxidative stress. Our finding suggests that one mechanistic explanation for patterns of longevity in bees is that a reproductive regulatory pathway has been remodeled to extend life. This perspective is of considerable relevance to research on longevity regulation that builds largely on inference from solitary model species.

494 citations


Cites background from "The biology of the honey bee"

  • ...This condition occurred because both the fecundity and longevity of the queen (17) underlie the social continuum that allows colonies to repeatedly build up to a size where reproduction by fission (swarming) and drone (male) production is possible (comparative information in ref....

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  • ...Workers may live up to 10 months (19–21), but lifespans are typically 4–6 weeks (17)....

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  • ...The queen may produce 1,500 eggs daily (17) and survive for 1–5 years (18)....

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