Pusceddu, M;
Cini, A;
Alberti, S;
Salaris, E;
Theodorou, P;
Floris, I;
Satta, A;
(2021)
Honey bees increase social distancing when facing the ectoparasite Varroa destructor.
Science Advances
, 7
(44)
, Article eabj1398. 10.1126/sciadv.abj1398.
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Abstract
Social distancing in response to infectious diseases is a strategy exhibited by human and nonhuman animals to counteract the spread of pathogens and/or parasites. Honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies are ideal models to study this behavior because of the compartmentalized structure of these societies, evolved under exposure to parasite pressure and the need to ensure efficient functioning. Here, by using a combination of spatial and behavioral approaches, we investigated whether the presence of the ectoparasite mite Varroa destructor induces changes in the social organization of A. mellifera colonies that could reduce the spread of the parasite. Our results demonstrated that honey bees react to the intrusion of V. destructor by modifying space use and social interactions to increase the social distancing between young (nurses) and old (foragers) cohorts of bees. These findings strongly suggest a behavioral strategy not previously reported in honey bees to limit the intracolony parasite transmission.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Honey bees increase social distancing when facing the ectoparasite Varroa destructor |
| Location: | United States |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1126/sciadv.abj1398 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abj1398 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | © 2021 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S.Government Works. Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > Div of Biosciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > Div of Biosciences > Genetics, Evolution and Environment |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10138465 |
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