Behavioral and Chemical Analyses of Trail Pheromones in the Amazonian Bumble Bee (Bombus transversalis)

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Animal Behavior ProgramNon-technical AbstractTitle: POWRE: Behavioral and Chemical Analyses of Trail Pheromones in the Amazonian bumble bee (Bombus transversalis)PI: Sydney A. CameronProposal #: 9973447 Social insects are endowed with complex chemical communication systems that rival the sophisticated communication systems of humans. It is well known, for instance, that foraging ants follow ground trails they chemically mark with pheromones to mediate communication with other members of the colony. The recent discovery by Dr. Cameron that a social bee in the Amazonian rain forest clears and follows trails resembling the ground trails of ants is striking because bees (and wasps) are not known to use ground trails for collecting resources. The focus of Dr. Cameron's POWRE research is to determine whether the recently discovered trail-following bees mark their trails with communication pheromones, as ants do. Ecological convergence between ants and this unusual rain forest bee in the use of trail pheromones seems quite possible. The POWRE activities are organized to test this hypothesis with behavioral observations, experimental manipulations, and chemical analyses, and to demonstrate the feasibility of a larger comparative study of trail pheromones in bees. The POWRE grant allows Dr. Cameron to conduct a pilot study to collect critical preliminary data, and affords her the opportunity to acquire the basic chemical-analytical skills required to carry on an expanded program in comparative exocrine-gland research. These skills will be acquired through contact at the host institution (Tel Aviv University) with a leading scientist in the field of chemical communication in insects. This collaboration will advance our knowledge of chemical communication in social insects and advance Dr. Cameron's own research program by enabling her to ultimately integrate behavior and chemical ecology with ongoing research into the evolution of social behavior in bees.