Bees are highly evolved social animals with precise shared hierarchies, roles and responsibilities. A recent study, published in Science Advances, showed that bee colonies are able to change their habits and behaviors if they detect the risk of a harmful mite infestation. In particular, the social distance between young and old bees increases. “Among animals, examples of social distancing have been found in very different species separated by millions of years of evolution: from baboons that are less likely to clean individuals with gastrointestinal infections to ants infected with a pathogenic fungus relegating themselves to anthill suburbs. company – said the co-author, Alessandro Cini of the UCL Center for Biodiversity -. Here we have provided the first evidence that bees modify their social interactions and the way they move around their hive in response to a common parasite. ‘
The aim of the study was to evaluate whether the presence of the ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor in the bee colonies had induced changes in social organization that could reduce the spread of the parasite in the hive. Among the stressors affecting bees, the Varroa mite is one of the main enemies as it causes a number of harmful effects on bees at the individual and colony level, including the transmission of the virus. The study is conducted by an Italian university: the Department of Agriculture, University of Sassari. Lead author Michelina Pusceddu said: “The observed increase in social distancing between the two groups of bees within the same parasite-infested colony represents a new and, in some ways, surprising aspect of how honey bees have become. evolved to fight pathogens and parasites. Bee colonies provide an ideal model to study social distancing and to fully understand the value and effectiveness of this behavior, ‘commented the author.
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