title: No effect of juvenile hormone on task performance in a bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) supports an evolutionary link between endocrine signaling and social complexity.
abstract: A hallmark of insect societies is a division of labor among workers specializing in different tasks. In bumblebees the division of labor is related to body size; relatively small workers are more likely to stay inside the nest and tend ("nurse") brood, whereas their larger sisters are more likely to forage. Despite their ecological and economic importance, very little is known about the endocrine regulation of division of labor in bumblebees. We studied the influence of juvenile hormone (JH) on task performance in the bumblebee Bombus terrestris. We first used a radioimmunoassay to measure circulating JH titers in workers specializing in nursing and foraging activities. Next, we developed new protocols for manipulating JH titers by combining a size-adjusted topical treatment with the allatotoxin Precocene-I and replacement therapy with JH-III. Finally, we used this protocol to test the influence of JH on task performance. JH levels were either similar for nurses and foragers (three colonies), or higher in nurses (two colonies). Nurses had better developed ovaries and JH levels were typically positively correlated with ovarian state. Manipulation of JH titers influenced ovarian development and wax secretion, consistent with earlier allatectomy studies. These manipulations however, did not affect nursing or foraging activity, or the likelihood to specialize in nursing or foraging activity. These findings contrast with honeybees in which JH influences age-related division of labor but not adult female fertility. Thus, the evolution of complex societies in bees was associated with modifications in the way JH influences social behavior.
authors: Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, The Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors: Hagai Y
authors: HY
authors: Shpigler
authors: Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, The Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors: Adam J
authors: AJ
authors: Siegel
authors: Department of Entomology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.
authors: Zachary Y
authors: ZY
authors: Huang
authors: Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, The Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel. Electronic address: guy.bloch@mail.huji.ac.il.
authors: Guy
authors: G
authors: Bloch
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001516:Bees / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D005075:Biological Evolution; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D005260:Female; D007605:Juvenile Hormones / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects; D012919:Social Behavior; D014937:Work / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D007605:Juvenile Hormones
keywords: Bombus terrestris; Division of labor; Juvenile hormone; Precocene; Social evolution