TWILIGHT AND NOCTURNAL ORIENTATION OF INDIVIDUALLY IDENTIFIED Apis dorsata F. FORAGERS
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Date
2023-02-24
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University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore
Abstract
Apis dorsata is unique among honey bees in that it evolved the capability to fly at low light intensity, which allows them to forage during moon-lit nights. However, it is still not known how they navigate and communicate the location of food sources when they can’t use their sun-compass system. We studied changes in dance orientation of individually marked A.dorsata foragers visiting an artificial feeder during moon-lit nights. Most foragers showed a 180° shift of the dance orientation during the evening twilight and kept this orientation till morning. This finding indicates that the bees reset their compass system to the morning position of the sun during evening twilight. In a second experiment, the changes in dance orientation were not that clear. This variability in the behaviour suggests an interaction between an innate mechanism to reset the orientation by 180o and the individual’s experience of the sun’s position at sunset