Journal
BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY AND SOCIOBIOLOGY
Volume 68, Issue 11, Pages 1777-1784Publisher
SPRINGER
DOI: 10.1007/s00265-014-1786-8
Keywords
Honeybee; Honey; Antimicrobial activity; Therapeutic self-medication; Nosema ceranae; Social immunity
Categories
Funding
- project RoBeeTech [POS CCE 206/20.07.2010, 618/12460]
- ERASMUS MUNDUS exchange program grant
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Honeybees, Apis mellifera, have several prophylactic disease defense strategies, including the foraging of antibiotic, antifungal, and antiviral compounds of plant products. Hence, honey and pollen contain many compounds that prevent fungal and bacterial growth and inhibit viral replication. Since these compounds are also fed to the larvae by nurse bees, they play a central role for colony health inside the hive. Here, we show that honeybee nurse bees, infected with the microsporidian gut parasite Nosema ceranae, show different preferences for various types of honeys in a simultaneous choice test. Infected workers preferred honeys with a higher antibiotic activity that reduced the microsporidian infection after the consumption of the honey. Since nurse bees feed not only the larvae but also other colony members, this behavior might be a highly adaptive form of therapeutic medication at both the individual and the colony level.
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