Biomaterial Database

The ant's weapon improves honey bee learning performance. 2023

Antonia Bachert, and Ricarda Scheiner

Behavioral Physiology and Sociobiology, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074, Würzburg, Germany.

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.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008322	Mammals	Warm-blooded vertebrate animals belonging to the class Mammalia, including all that possess hair and suckle their young.	Mammalia,Mammal
D003071	Cognition	Intellectual or mental process whereby an organism obtains knowledge.	Cognitive Function,Cognitions,Cognitive Functions,Function, Cognitive,Functions, Cognitive
D000226	Mitochondrial ADP, ATP Translocases	A class of nucleotide translocases found abundantly in mitochondria that function as integral components of the inner mitochondrial membrane. They facilitate the exchange of ADP and ATP between the cytosol and the mitochondria, thereby linking the subcellular compartments of ATP production to those of ATP utilization.	ADP,ATP Carrier,ADP,ATP Translocator Protein,Adenine Nucleotide Translocase,ADP Translocase,ATP Translocase,ATP,ADP-Carrier,ATP-ADP Translocase,Adenine Nucleotide Carrier (Mitochondrial),Mitochondrial ADP-ATP Carriers,ADP-ATP Carriers, Mitochondrial,Mitochondrial ADP ATP Carriers
D000818	Animals	Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA.	Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D001000	Ants	Insects of the family Formicidae, very common and widespread, probably the most successful of all the insect groups. All ants are social insects, and most colonies contain three castes, queens, males, and workers. Their habits are often very elaborate and a great many studies have been made of ant behavior. Ants produce a number of secretions that function in offense, defense, and communication. (From Borror, et al., An Introduction to the Study of Insects, 4th ed, p676)	Ant
D001516	Bees	Insect members of the superfamily Apoidea, found almost everywhere, particularly on flowers. About 3500 species occur in North America. They differ from most WASPS in that their young are fed honey and pollen rather than animal food.	Apidae,Apis,Apis mellifera,Apis mellifica,European Honey Bee,Honey Bee Drone,Bee,Bee, European Honey,Drone, Honey Bee,European Honey Bees,Honey Bee Drones,Honey Bee, European
D013395	Sucrose	A nonreducing disaccharide composed of GLUCOSE and FRUCTOSE linked via their anomeric carbons. It is obtained commercially from SUGARCANE, sugar beet (BETA VULGARIS), and other plants and used extensively as a food and a sweetener.	Saccharose
D057077	Varroidae	A family of MITES in the subclass ACARI. It includes the single genus Varroa.	Varroa,Honeybee Mite,Varroa destructor,Honeybee Mites,Mite, Honeybee,Mites, Honeybee
D064420	Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions	Disorders that result from the intended use of PHARMACEUTICAL PREPARATIONS. Included in this heading are a broad variety of chemically-induced adverse conditions due to toxicity, DRUG INTERACTIONS, and metabolic effects of pharmaceuticals.	Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reaction,Adverse Drug Event,Adverse Drug Reaction,Drug Side Effects,Drug Toxicity,Side Effects of Drugs,Toxicity, Drug,Adverse Drug Events,Adverse Drug Reactions,Drug Event, Adverse,Drug Events, Adverse,Drug Reaction, Adverse,Drug Reactions, Adverse,Drug Related Side Effects and Adverse Reaction,Drug Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions,Drug Side Effect,Drug Toxicities,Effects, Drug Side,Reactions, Adverse Drug,Side Effect, Drug,Side Effects, Drug,Toxicities, Drug