The 'I see you' prey-predator signal of Apis cerana is innate.
An 'I see you' (ISY) prey-predator signal can co-evolve when such a signal benefits both prey and predator. The prey benefits if, by producing the signal, the predator is likely to break off an attack. The predator benefits if it is informed by the signal that the prey is aware of its presence and can break off what is likely to be an unsuccessful and potentially costly hunt. Because the signal and response co-evolve in two species, the behaviour underlying an ISY signal is expected to have a strong genetic component and cannot be entirely learned. An example of an ISY signal is the 'shimmering' behaviour performed by Asian hive bee workers in the presence of their predator Vespa velutina. To test the prediction that bee-hornet signalling is heritable, we let honey bee workers of two species emerge in an incubator so that they had never been exposed to V. velutina. In Apis cerana, the shimmering response developed 48 h post-emergence, was strong after 72 h and increased further over 2 weeks. In contrast, A. mellifera, which has evolved in the absence of Asian hornets, did not produce the shimmering signal. In control tests, A. cerana workers exposed to a non-threatening butterfly did not respond with the shimmering signal.
Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Science, Kunming, Yunnan Province, People's Republic of China.
Ken
K
Tan
Zhenwei
Z
Wang
Weiweng
W
Chen
Zongwen
Z
Hu
Benjamin P
BP
Oldroyd
D000819:Animal Communication; D000818:Animals; D001516:Bees / Q000502:physiology*; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology; D020387:Food Chain; D007323:Instinct