Scientists studying the brains of bees have discovered clues to how colonies coordinate complex behaviors without a central controller, instead relying on many small individual decisions
Even without bees telling other bees what to do, the colony works in an organized manner. The young bees take care of the queen and young bees, the older bees build and guard the hive, and the oldest worker bees fly out to collect food. Scientists have known about this pattern for a long time, but they didn’t know how the bee brain controls these changes.Researchers at Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf, together with scientists from the Universities of Cologne and Frankfurt, say they have discovered an important clue. Their research shows that specific brain circuits help determine the tasks that worker bees perform as they age.Science
Bees change jobs as they age
Unlike humans, bees do not have a leader to distribute work. However, bee colonies operate smoothly because worker bees naturally change jobs as they age.Young worker bees spend their time feeding and caring for the queen and developing larvae. As they grow older, they help build the hive and guard it. In the final stages of their lives, they leave the hive to collect nectar and pollen.Although worker bees typically follow an age-based work order, scientists know the system is flexible. If a colony suddenly loses many of its young worker bees, some of the older bees can resume nursing duties. Likewise, young bees may start foraging earlier than usual if more food gatherers are needed, according to a 2008 study. study. The new research helps explain how the brain controls these changes.Scientists knew age-based patterns existed, but they didn’t understand how the bee brain controlled these changes. The study focused on a gene called intersex.
.
Early research from Professor Martin Beyer’s team showed that when this gene is turned off in older worker bees, they start caring for the queen again, rather than continuing the work normally done by workers of the same age. This suggests that the gene may play an important role in controlling working behavior within the colony.Because the gene is only active in certain brain circuits, the researchers used it to study how these circuits affect the bees’ work. Scientists used a method to temporarily reduce activity in brain circuits linked to intersex genes. They did this by activating neuronal silencing proteins after feeding the bees a specific substance.When these brain circuits slow down, older worker bees start caring for the queen again. When the circuitry remained unchanged, the bees continued their normal age-related operating patterns.Lead author Dr. Jana Seiler, cited in Science
What the findings mean
The researchers say the study provides evidence that communication between different brain circuits helps determine which tasks bees perform throughout their lives. This means that reducing the activity of one group of brain cells appears to allow another group of brain circuits to become active, thereby changing the bees’ behavior. The team believes this helps explain how swarms organize their work without any central planning.Professor Martin Beyer said: “The ability to control bees’ social behavior opens up new opportunities for us to explore the basis of innate behavioral diversity and social cooperation. The solution to the secret of how bees and other animals work together so well without a working blueprint is likely to lie hidden in the brain’s neural circuits.”The researchers say their work could provide a better understanding of how the brain controls bees’ social behavior and could also help scientists study how other animals develop cooperation.
