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Systematics, Evolution, and Biodiversity

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Student Competition

Undergrad Poster Competition: SysEB, Social Insects, Genetics, and Molecular Biology

D3230: Heat-balling and thermal responses to aggression in honey bees

Monday, November 11, 2024
9:00 AM – 5:00 PM MST
Location: Phoenix Convention Center, Exhibit Hall 6, PCC
Poster Display Student Competition
The evolution of heat balling, a defensive behavior employed by honey bees to kill predators, is not well understood. In this behavior, guard bees, older bees that act as defenders of the hive, form a ball-shaped cluster around the predator, releasing alarm pheromones that encourage other bees to join the cluster, and attempt to sting the attacker. Inside this ball, bees generate heat, carbon dioxide, and block the spiracles of the predator, disabling or killing it. Apis mellifera, unlike Apis cerana, does not form large heat balls that are capable of disabling or killing hornets and wasps. However, other studies have shown that they can form small heat balls. We hypothesize that colonies exhibit different levels of heat balling tied to their aggressiveness. Using thermal imaging, we are testing this hypothesis to determine if threats to honey bees will result in behavioral and/or thermal changes. We analyzed bee body temperature changes over time in the lab and field conditions and looked at the contributions of triggers such as alarm pheromone, live hornets, dead hornets, or foreign bees that were presented to a colony. Behaviors such as stinging or biting the predator were measured and compared to these temperature variations. These results showed that there were significant differences in the threatened Apis mellifera’s temperature when compared to a non-threatened counterpart, increasing their individual body temperatures when attacking. Data on how this behavior differs in Apis mellifera scutellata hybrids (the so-called “Africanized” honey bee) will also be presented.