Individual brains, collective task: social regulation of stinging behaviour in honeybees

蜜蜂保护自己的巢不受大型捕食者的攻击，这要归功于它们共同努力骚扰和叮咬入侵者。刺器已经进化成分离在刺痛的弹性皮肤上(比如我们的)，以最大限度地传递毒液，但缺点是，被肢解的蜜蜂将在几个小时内死亡。因此，受到威胁的蜂群必须实现微妙的平衡：足够多的蜜蜂需要做出反应，成功阻止入侵者，但又不会不必要地耗尽蜂群的劳动力。有哪些机制来规范每个人参与或不参与这一集体反应的决定，以实现这种平衡？我建议蜜蜂整合关于它们筑巢伙伴行为的信息(社会反馈)，以微调自己的反应。这个项目的目的是研究这种调节机制的行为和神经生物学基础。多亏了行为实验，我将描述假设的社会反馈，并确定涉及的感觉通道。为了研究这种调节的神经生物学机制，将研究已知和假定的蜜蜂攻击的神经调节因子的作用。对所涉及的神经元的描述将为解开调节蜜蜂刺痛反应的神经元电路提供一个起点。因此，该项目将解决基础研究问题，并可能提供新的方法来帮助养蜂人管理这种防御性反应。

Honeybees defend their nest against large predators thanks to a collective effort to harass and sting the intruder. The stinger apparatus has evolved to detach upon stinging elastic skin (such as ours) to maximize venom delivery, but the drawback is that the mutilated bee will then die within a few hours. Thus, the honeybee colony under threat has to achieve a delicate balance: enough bees need to respond that the intruder is successfully deterred, but without unnecessarily depleting the colony of its workforce. What are the mechanisms regulating the decision of each individual to engage or not into this collective response, so that this balance is reached? I propose that honeybees integrate information about the behaviour of their nestmates (social feedback) to fine tune their own response. The aim of this project is to study both the behavioural and the neurobiological bases of this regulatory mechanism. Thanks to the behavioural experiments, I will characterize the postulated social feedback and identify the sensory channels involved. In order to study the neurobiological mechanism underlying this regulation, the role of known and putative neuromodulators of honeybee aggression will be investigated. Characterization of the neurons involved will provide a starting point to unravel the neuronal circuitry mediating the stinging response of honeybees. Hence this project will address fundamental research questions and may provide new ways to help beekeepers manage this defensive response.