Neuroethological bases of pheromonal sex communication in male honeybees (drones), Apis mellifera

• Applicant: Dr. Andreas Brandstaetter
• Subject Area: Sensory and Behavioural Biology
• Term: from 2012 to 2013
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 224065804

All over the world food production depends on animal pollination of crops and the most economically valuable pollinator is the domesticated honeybee, Apis mellifera. Due to this social insects rich behavioral repertoire and cognitive abilities, honeybees have become a main-stream animal model for scientific studies in fields such as ethology, neurobiology, developmental biology, molecular genetics, and animal cognition. Yet, for all the enormous amount of knowledge acquired on this model organism, crucial aspects of its reproductive behavior, which is particularly striking, are still hardly understood. Mating in bees takes place at so-called drone-congregation areas, places high in the air, where male bees (drones) fly around and mate in dozens with single virgin queens. One main queen-produced olfactory signal a component of the queen pheromone (9-ODA) is known to attract the drones. However, how drones actually find their congregation areas and whether they use male-produced pheromonal signals is unknown. The drone brain presents four putative pheromone-specific units (macroglomeruli) in its primary olfactory center, the antennal lobe, and one of them responds specifically to 9-ODA. What is the role of the three remaining units, however? This project aims to shed light on the pheromonal communication system of honeybee drones, Apis mellifera, using an integrative approach combining behavioral and neurophysiological experiments.

• DFG Programme: Research Fellowships
• International Connection: France
• Host: Dr. Jean-Christophe Sandoz