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Appetite for self-destruction: suicidal biting as a nest defense strategy in Trigona stingless bees

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posted on 2023-06-08, 19:06 authored by Kyle Shackleton, Hasan Al Toufailia, Nicholas J Balfour, Fabio S Nascimento, Denise A Alves, Francis Ratnieks
Self-sacrificial behavior represents an extreme and relatively uncommon form of altruism in worker insects. It can occur, however, when inclusive fitness benefits are high, such as when defending the nest. We studied nest defense behaviors in stingless bees, which live in eusocial colonies subject to predation. We introduced a target flag to nest entrances to elicit defensive responses and quantified four measures of defensivity in 12 stingless bee species in São Paulo State, Brazil. These included three Trigona species, which are locally known for their aggression. Species varied significantly in their attack probability (cross species range?=?0–1, P?

Funding

2012 Doctoral Training Grant to KS (NERC); G0941; NERC-NATURAL ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH COUNCIL; NE/K501347/1

History

Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Published version

Journal

Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology

ISSN

0340-5443

Publisher

Springer

Issue

2

Volume

69

Page range

273-281

Department affiliated with

  • Evolution, Behaviour and Environment Publications

Full text available

  • Yes

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2014-11-19

First Open Access (FOA) Date

2014-11-19

First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date

2014-11-19

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