The Experts below are selected from a list of 243 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform
James C Nieh - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Olfactory eavesdropping of predator Alarm pheromone by sympatric but not allopatric prey
Animal Behaviour, 2018Co-Authors: Shihao Dong, Ping Wen, Qi Zhang, Yuan Wang, Yanan Cheng, Ken Tan, James C NiehAbstract:Eavesdropping is predicted to evolve between sympatric, but not allopatric, predator and prey. The evolutionary arms race between Asian honey bees and their hornet predators has led to a remarkable defence, heat balling, which suffocates hornets with heat and carbon dioxide. We show that the sympatric Asian species, Apis cerana (Ac), formed heat balls in response to Ac and hornet (Vespa velutina) Alarm Pheromones, demonstrating eavesdropping. The allopatric species, Apis mellifera (Am), only weakly responded to a live hornet and Am Alarm pheromone, but not to hornet Alarm pheromone. We observed typical hornet Alarm pheromone-releasing behaviour, hornet sting extension, when guard bees initially attacked. Once heat balls were formed, guards released honey bee sting Alarm Pheromones: isopentyl acetate, octyl acetate, (E)-2-decen-1-yl acetate and benzyl acetate. Only Ac heat balled in response to realistic bee Alarm pheromone component levels (
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Poison and Alarm: the Asian hornet Vespa velutina uses sting venom volatiles as an Alarm pheromone.
The Journal of Experimental Biology, 2016Co-Authors: Yanan Cheng, Ping Wen, Shihao Dong, Ken Tan, James C NiehAbstract:In colonial organisms, Alarm Pheromones can provide a key fitness advantage by enhancing colony defence and warning of danger. Learning which species use Alarm pheromone and the key compounds involved therefore enhances our understanding of how this important signal has evolved. However, our knowledge of Alarm Pheromones is more limited in the social wasps and hornets compared with the social bees and ants. Vespa velutina is an economically important and widespread hornet predator that attacks honey bees and humans. This species is native to Asia and has now invaded Europe. Despite growing interest in V. velutina, it was unknown whether it possessed an Alarm pheromone. We show that these hornets use sting venom as an Alarm pheromone. Sting venom volatiles were strongly attractive to hornet workers and triggered attacks. Two major venom fractions, consisting of monoketones and diketones, also elicited attack. We used gas chromatography coupled to electroantennographic detection (GC-EAD) to isolate 13 known and 3 unknown aliphatic ketones and alcohols in venom that elicited conspicuous hornet antennal activity. Two of the unknown compounds may be an undecen-2-one and an undecene-2,10-dinone. Three major compounds (heptan-2-one, nonan-2-one and undecan-2-one) triggered attacks, but only nonan-2-one did so at biologically relevant levels (10 hornet equivalents). Nonan-2-one thus deserves particular attention. However, the key Alarm releasers for V. velutina remain to be identified. Such identification will help to illuminate the evolution and function of Alarm compounds in hornets.
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bees eavesdrop upon informative and persistent signal compounds in Alarm Pheromones
Scientific Reports, 2016Co-Authors: Zhengwei Wang, Yufeng Qu, Jianjun Li, Shihao Dong, James C NiehAbstract:Pollinators such as bees provide a critical ecosystem service that can be impaired by information about predation. We provide the first evidence for olfactory eavesdropping and avoidance of heterospecific Alarm signals, Alarm Pheromones, at food sources in bees. We predicted that foragers could eavesdrop upon heterospecific Alarm Pheromones, and would detect and avoid conspicuous individual pheromone compounds, defined by abundance and their ability to persist. We show that Apis cerana foragers avoid the distinctive Alarm Pheromones of A. dorsata and A. mellifera, species that share the same floral resources and predators. We next examined responses to individual Alarm pheromone compounds. Apis cerana foragers avoided isopentyl acetate (IPA), which is found in all three species and is the most abundant and volatile of the tested compounds. Interestingly, A. cerana also avoided an odor component, gamma-octanoic lactone (GOL), which is >150-fold less volatile than IPA. Chemical analyses confirmed that GOL is only present in A. dorsata, not in A. cerana. Electroantennogram (EAG) recordings revealed that A. cerana antennae are 10-fold more sensitive to GOL than to other tested compounds. Thus, the eavesdropping strategy is shaped by signal conspicuousness (abundance and commonality) and signal persistence (volatility).
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effects of natural and synthetic Alarm pheromone and individual pheromone components on foraging behavior of the giant asian honey bee apis dorsata
The Journal of Experimental Biology, 2014Co-Authors: Jianjun Li, Yufeng Qu, Zhengwei Wang, James C NiehAbstract:Social pollinators such as honey bees face attacks from predators not only at the nest, but also during foraging. Pollinating honey bees can therefore release Alarm Pheromones that deter conspecifics from visiting dangerous inflorescences. However, the effect of Alarm pheromone and its chemical components upon bee avoidance of dangerous food sources remains unclear. We tested the responses of giant honey bee foragers, Apis dorsata, presented with Alarm pheromone at a floral array. Foragers investigated the inflorescence with natural Alarm pheromone, but 3.3-fold more foragers preferred to land on the ‘safe’ inflorescence without Alarm pheromone. Using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis, we identified eight chemical components in the Alarm pheromone, of which three components (1-octanol, decanal and gamma-octanoic lactone) have not previously been reported in this species. We bioassayed six major compounds and found that a synthetic mixture of these compounds elicited behaviors statistically indistinguishable from responses to natural Alarm pheromone. By testing each compound separately, we show that gamma-octanoic lactone, isopentyl acetate and (E)-2-decen-1-yl acetate are active compounds that elicit significant Alarm responses. Gamma-octanoic lactone elicited the strongest response to a single compound and has not been previously reported in honey bee Alarm pheromone. Isopentyl acetate is widely found in the Alarm Pheromones of sympatric Asian honey bee species, and thus Alarmed A. dorsata foragers may produce information useful for conspecifics and heterospecifics, thereby broadening the effects of Alarm information on plant pollination.
Shihao Dong - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Olfactory eavesdropping of predator Alarm pheromone by sympatric but not allopatric prey
Animal Behaviour, 2018Co-Authors: Shihao Dong, Ping Wen, Qi Zhang, Yuan Wang, Yanan Cheng, Ken Tan, James C NiehAbstract:Eavesdropping is predicted to evolve between sympatric, but not allopatric, predator and prey. The evolutionary arms race between Asian honey bees and their hornet predators has led to a remarkable defence, heat balling, which suffocates hornets with heat and carbon dioxide. We show that the sympatric Asian species, Apis cerana (Ac), formed heat balls in response to Ac and hornet (Vespa velutina) Alarm Pheromones, demonstrating eavesdropping. The allopatric species, Apis mellifera (Am), only weakly responded to a live hornet and Am Alarm pheromone, but not to hornet Alarm pheromone. We observed typical hornet Alarm pheromone-releasing behaviour, hornet sting extension, when guard bees initially attacked. Once heat balls were formed, guards released honey bee sting Alarm Pheromones: isopentyl acetate, octyl acetate, (E)-2-decen-1-yl acetate and benzyl acetate. Only Ac heat balled in response to realistic bee Alarm pheromone component levels (
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High Concentrations of the Alarm Pheromone Component, Isopentyl Acetate, Reduces Foraging and Dancing in Apis mellifera Ligustica and Apis cerana Cerana
Journal of Insect Behavior, 2017Co-Authors: Zhiwen Gong, Shihao Dong, Chao Wang, Xuewen Zhang, Wang Yanhui, Hu Zongwen, Ken TanAbstract:A honeybee colony is a superorganism that has evolved precise communication systems, which allow the colony to gather information from numerous individuals and coordinate its behavior. Alarm Pheromones, such as isopentyl acetate (IPA), the main component of sting Alarm pheromone, play a critical role in the coordination of individual behaviors as well as colony communication in honeybee colonies. In this study, honeybees (Apis mellifera ligustica and Apis cerana cerana) were exposed to relatively high levels of IPA at a foraging site (6–8 bee equivalents) and inside their colony (28–58 bee equivalents) to investigate the influence of Alarm Pheromones on foraging activity and hive flight activity. IPA reduced the number of bees that flew out the hive, foraged, and waggle danced. Under both contexts in the hive and at the food source, IPA can therefore inhibit honey bee foraging and foraging communication.
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Poison and Alarm: the Asian hornet Vespa velutina uses sting venom volatiles as an Alarm pheromone.
The Journal of Experimental Biology, 2016Co-Authors: Yanan Cheng, Ping Wen, Shihao Dong, Ken Tan, James C NiehAbstract:In colonial organisms, Alarm Pheromones can provide a key fitness advantage by enhancing colony defence and warning of danger. Learning which species use Alarm pheromone and the key compounds involved therefore enhances our understanding of how this important signal has evolved. However, our knowledge of Alarm Pheromones is more limited in the social wasps and hornets compared with the social bees and ants. Vespa velutina is an economically important and widespread hornet predator that attacks honey bees and humans. This species is native to Asia and has now invaded Europe. Despite growing interest in V. velutina, it was unknown whether it possessed an Alarm pheromone. We show that these hornets use sting venom as an Alarm pheromone. Sting venom volatiles were strongly attractive to hornet workers and triggered attacks. Two major venom fractions, consisting of monoketones and diketones, also elicited attack. We used gas chromatography coupled to electroantennographic detection (GC-EAD) to isolate 13 known and 3 unknown aliphatic ketones and alcohols in venom that elicited conspicuous hornet antennal activity. Two of the unknown compounds may be an undecen-2-one and an undecene-2,10-dinone. Three major compounds (heptan-2-one, nonan-2-one and undecan-2-one) triggered attacks, but only nonan-2-one did so at biologically relevant levels (10 hornet equivalents). Nonan-2-one thus deserves particular attention. However, the key Alarm releasers for V. velutina remain to be identified. Such identification will help to illuminate the evolution and function of Alarm compounds in hornets.
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bees eavesdrop upon informative and persistent signal compounds in Alarm Pheromones
Scientific Reports, 2016Co-Authors: Zhengwei Wang, Yufeng Qu, Jianjun Li, Shihao Dong, James C NiehAbstract:Pollinators such as bees provide a critical ecosystem service that can be impaired by information about predation. We provide the first evidence for olfactory eavesdropping and avoidance of heterospecific Alarm signals, Alarm Pheromones, at food sources in bees. We predicted that foragers could eavesdrop upon heterospecific Alarm Pheromones, and would detect and avoid conspicuous individual pheromone compounds, defined by abundance and their ability to persist. We show that Apis cerana foragers avoid the distinctive Alarm Pheromones of A. dorsata and A. mellifera, species that share the same floral resources and predators. We next examined responses to individual Alarm pheromone compounds. Apis cerana foragers avoided isopentyl acetate (IPA), which is found in all three species and is the most abundant and volatile of the tested compounds. Interestingly, A. cerana also avoided an odor component, gamma-octanoic lactone (GOL), which is >150-fold less volatile than IPA. Chemical analyses confirmed that GOL is only present in A. dorsata, not in A. cerana. Electroantennogram (EAG) recordings revealed that A. cerana antennae are 10-fold more sensitive to GOL than to other tested compounds. Thus, the eavesdropping strategy is shaped by signal conspicuousness (abundance and commonality) and signal persistence (volatility).
Márcio Braga - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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a model for terrain coverage inspired by ant s Alarm Pheromones
ACM Symposium on Applied Computing, 2007Co-Authors: Ronaldo Menezes, Francisco Martins, Francisca Emanuelle Vieira, Rafael Silva, Márcio BragaAbstract:When looking at science and technology today, we find a recurrent problem to many fields: how to cover a search space consistently and uniformly. This problem is encountered in robotics (searching for targets), optimization (searching for solutions), mathematics and computer science (graph traversals), and even in software engineering (the main motivation for this research). In insect societies, and in particular ant colonies, one can find the concept of Alarm Pheromones used to indicate an important event to the society (e.g. a threat). Alarm Pheromones enable the society to have a uniform spread of its individuals, probably as a survival mechanism --- the more uniform the spread the better the changes of survival at the colony level. This paper proposes a model of this ant behavior which can be used to solve the aforementioned problem. The model, called Alarm is inspired primarily by ACO and from observations of ants Alarm behavior. We compare the model with a random walk, to demonstrate a significant improvement over this approach.
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SAC - A model for terrain coverage inspired by ant's Alarm Pheromones
Proceedings of the 2007 ACM symposium on Applied computing - SAC '07, 2007Co-Authors: Ronaldo Menezes, Francisco Martins, Francisca Emanuelle Vieira, Rafael Silva, Márcio BragaAbstract:When looking at science and technology today, we find a recurrent problem to many fields: how to cover a search space consistently and uniformly. This problem is encountered in robotics (searching for targets), optimization (searching for solutions), mathematics and computer science (graph traversals), and even in software engineering (the main motivation for this research). In insect societies, and in particular ant colonies, one can find the concept of Alarm Pheromones used to indicate an important event to the society (e.g. a threat). Alarm Pheromones enable the society to have a uniform spread of its individuals, probably as a survival mechanism --- the more uniform the spread the better the changes of survival at the colony level. This paper proposes a model of this ant behavior which can be used to solve the aforementioned problem. The model, called Alarm is inspired primarily by ACO and from observations of ants Alarm behavior. We compare the model with a random walk, to demonstrate a significant improvement over this approach.
Ken Tan - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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honey bee Alarm pheromone mediates communication in plant pollinator predator interactions
Insects, 2019Co-Authors: Zhengwei Wang, Ken TanAbstract:Honey bees play a crucial role in pollination, and in performing this critical function, face numerous threats from predators and parasites during foraging and homing trips. Back in the nest, their defensive behavior drives some individuals to sacrifice themselves while fighting intruders with their stingers or mandibles. During these intense conflicts, bees release Alarm pheromone to rapidly communicate with other nest mates about the present danger. However, we still know little about why and how Alarm pheromone is used in plant–pollinator–predator interactions. Here, we review the history of previously detected bee Alarm Pheromones and the current state of the chemical analyses. More new components and functions have been confirmed in honey bee Alarm pheromone. Then, we ask how important the Alarm Pheromones are in intra- and/or inter-species communication. Some plants even adopt mimicry systems to attract either the pollinators themselves or their predators for pollination via Alarm pheromone. Pheromones are honest signals that evolved in one species and can be one of the main driving factors affecting co-evolution in plant–pollinator–predator interactions. Our review intends to stimulate new studies on the neuronal, molecular, behavioral, and evolutionary levels in order to understand how Alarm pheromone mediates communication in plant–pollinator–predator interactions.
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Losing the Arms Race: Greater Wax Moths Sense but Ignore Bee Alarm Pheromones.
Insects, 2019Co-Authors: Xingchuan Jiang, Zhengwei Wang, Junjun Zhang, Katrina Klett, Shahid Mehmood, Ken TanAbstract:The greater wax moth, Galleria mellonella L., is one of main pests of honeybees. The larvae burrow into the wax, damaging the bee comb and degenerating bee products, but also causes severe effects like driving the whole colony to abscond. In the present study, we used electroantennograms, a Y maze, and an oviposition site choice bioassay to test whether the greater wax moth can eavesdrop on bee Alarm Pheromones (isopentyl acetate, benzyl acetate, octyl acetate, and 2-heptanone), to target the bee colony, or if the bee Alarm Pheromones would affect their preference of an oviposition site. The results revealed that the greater wax moth showed a strong electroantennogram response to these four compounds of bee Alarm Pheromones even in a low concentration (100 ng/μL), while they showed the highest response to octyl acetate compared to the other three main bee Alarm components (isopentyl acetate, benzyl acetate, and 2-heptanone). However, the greater wax moth behavioral results showed no significant preference or avoidance to these four bee Alarm Pheromones. These results indicate that bees are currently losing the arms race since the greater wax moth can sense bee Alarm Pheromones, however, these Alarm Pheromones are ignored by the greater wax moth.
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Olfactory eavesdropping of predator Alarm pheromone by sympatric but not allopatric prey
Animal Behaviour, 2018Co-Authors: Shihao Dong, Ping Wen, Qi Zhang, Yuan Wang, Yanan Cheng, Ken Tan, James C NiehAbstract:Eavesdropping is predicted to evolve between sympatric, but not allopatric, predator and prey. The evolutionary arms race between Asian honey bees and their hornet predators has led to a remarkable defence, heat balling, which suffocates hornets with heat and carbon dioxide. We show that the sympatric Asian species, Apis cerana (Ac), formed heat balls in response to Ac and hornet (Vespa velutina) Alarm Pheromones, demonstrating eavesdropping. The allopatric species, Apis mellifera (Am), only weakly responded to a live hornet and Am Alarm pheromone, but not to hornet Alarm pheromone. We observed typical hornet Alarm pheromone-releasing behaviour, hornet sting extension, when guard bees initially attacked. Once heat balls were formed, guards released honey bee sting Alarm Pheromones: isopentyl acetate, octyl acetate, (E)-2-decen-1-yl acetate and benzyl acetate. Only Ac heat balled in response to realistic bee Alarm pheromone component levels (
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High Concentrations of the Alarm Pheromone Component, Isopentyl Acetate, Reduces Foraging and Dancing in Apis mellifera Ligustica and Apis cerana Cerana
Journal of Insect Behavior, 2017Co-Authors: Zhiwen Gong, Shihao Dong, Chao Wang, Xuewen Zhang, Wang Yanhui, Hu Zongwen, Ken TanAbstract:A honeybee colony is a superorganism that has evolved precise communication systems, which allow the colony to gather information from numerous individuals and coordinate its behavior. Alarm Pheromones, such as isopentyl acetate (IPA), the main component of sting Alarm pheromone, play a critical role in the coordination of individual behaviors as well as colony communication in honeybee colonies. In this study, honeybees (Apis mellifera ligustica and Apis cerana cerana) were exposed to relatively high levels of IPA at a foraging site (6–8 bee equivalents) and inside their colony (28–58 bee equivalents) to investigate the influence of Alarm Pheromones on foraging activity and hive flight activity. IPA reduced the number of bees that flew out the hive, foraged, and waggle danced. Under both contexts in the hive and at the food source, IPA can therefore inhibit honey bee foraging and foraging communication.
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Poison and Alarm: the Asian hornet Vespa velutina uses sting venom volatiles as an Alarm pheromone.
The Journal of Experimental Biology, 2016Co-Authors: Yanan Cheng, Ping Wen, Shihao Dong, Ken Tan, James C NiehAbstract:In colonial organisms, Alarm Pheromones can provide a key fitness advantage by enhancing colony defence and warning of danger. Learning which species use Alarm pheromone and the key compounds involved therefore enhances our understanding of how this important signal has evolved. However, our knowledge of Alarm Pheromones is more limited in the social wasps and hornets compared with the social bees and ants. Vespa velutina is an economically important and widespread hornet predator that attacks honey bees and humans. This species is native to Asia and has now invaded Europe. Despite growing interest in V. velutina, it was unknown whether it possessed an Alarm pheromone. We show that these hornets use sting venom as an Alarm pheromone. Sting venom volatiles were strongly attractive to hornet workers and triggered attacks. Two major venom fractions, consisting of monoketones and diketones, also elicited attack. We used gas chromatography coupled to electroantennographic detection (GC-EAD) to isolate 13 known and 3 unknown aliphatic ketones and alcohols in venom that elicited conspicuous hornet antennal activity. Two of the unknown compounds may be an undecen-2-one and an undecene-2,10-dinone. Three major compounds (heptan-2-one, nonan-2-one and undecan-2-one) triggered attacks, but only nonan-2-one did so at biologically relevant levels (10 hornet equivalents). Nonan-2-one thus deserves particular attention. However, the key Alarm releasers for V. velutina remain to be identified. Such identification will help to illuminate the evolution and function of Alarm compounds in hornets.
Yanan Cheng - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Olfactory eavesdropping of predator Alarm pheromone by sympatric but not allopatric prey
Animal Behaviour, 2018Co-Authors: Shihao Dong, Ping Wen, Qi Zhang, Yuan Wang, Yanan Cheng, Ken Tan, James C NiehAbstract:Eavesdropping is predicted to evolve between sympatric, but not allopatric, predator and prey. The evolutionary arms race between Asian honey bees and their hornet predators has led to a remarkable defence, heat balling, which suffocates hornets with heat and carbon dioxide. We show that the sympatric Asian species, Apis cerana (Ac), formed heat balls in response to Ac and hornet (Vespa velutina) Alarm Pheromones, demonstrating eavesdropping. The allopatric species, Apis mellifera (Am), only weakly responded to a live hornet and Am Alarm pheromone, but not to hornet Alarm pheromone. We observed typical hornet Alarm pheromone-releasing behaviour, hornet sting extension, when guard bees initially attacked. Once heat balls were formed, guards released honey bee sting Alarm Pheromones: isopentyl acetate, octyl acetate, (E)-2-decen-1-yl acetate and benzyl acetate. Only Ac heat balled in response to realistic bee Alarm pheromone component levels (
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Poison and Alarm: the Asian hornet Vespa velutina uses sting venom volatiles as an Alarm pheromone.
The Journal of Experimental Biology, 2016Co-Authors: Yanan Cheng, Ping Wen, Shihao Dong, Ken Tan, James C NiehAbstract:In colonial organisms, Alarm Pheromones can provide a key fitness advantage by enhancing colony defence and warning of danger. Learning which species use Alarm pheromone and the key compounds involved therefore enhances our understanding of how this important signal has evolved. However, our knowledge of Alarm Pheromones is more limited in the social wasps and hornets compared with the social bees and ants. Vespa velutina is an economically important and widespread hornet predator that attacks honey bees and humans. This species is native to Asia and has now invaded Europe. Despite growing interest in V. velutina, it was unknown whether it possessed an Alarm pheromone. We show that these hornets use sting venom as an Alarm pheromone. Sting venom volatiles were strongly attractive to hornet workers and triggered attacks. Two major venom fractions, consisting of monoketones and diketones, also elicited attack. We used gas chromatography coupled to electroantennographic detection (GC-EAD) to isolate 13 known and 3 unknown aliphatic ketones and alcohols in venom that elicited conspicuous hornet antennal activity. Two of the unknown compounds may be an undecen-2-one and an undecene-2,10-dinone. Three major compounds (heptan-2-one, nonan-2-one and undecan-2-one) triggered attacks, but only nonan-2-one did so at biologically relevant levels (10 hornet equivalents). Nonan-2-one thus deserves particular attention. However, the key Alarm releasers for V. velutina remain to be identified. Such identification will help to illuminate the evolution and function of Alarm compounds in hornets.
