Worker allocation in insect societies: coordination of nectar foragers and nectar receivers in honey bee ( Apis mellifera ) colonies

摘要: Nectar collection in the honey-bee is partitioned. Foragers collect nectar and take it to nest, where they transfer receiver bees who then store cells. Because a fluctuating unpredictable resource, changes worker allocation are required balance work capacities of foragers receivers so that resource exploited efficiently. Honey bee colonies use complex system signals other feedback mechanisms coordinate relative total two groups workers involved. We present functional evaluation each component used by honey – waggle dance, tremble stop signal, shaking signal abandonment analyse how their interplay leads group-level regulation. contrast actual regulatory with theory. The dance conforms predicted best information, group excess applies negative itself positive shortage, but this not true dance. Reasons for discrepancies discussed. also suggest reasons why combination recruitment plus switching between subtasks, which another mechanism balancing receivers. propose dances primary regulation mechanisms, secondary fine-tune system. Fine-tuning needed because inherent unreliability cues, queueing delays, make decisions.