Neural mechanism of multi-sensory integration related for deciphering the waggle dance of honeybee

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 22570079
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Animal physiology/Animal behavior
• Research Institution: Fukuoka University
• Principal Investigator: AI Hiroyuki 福岡大学, 理学部, 助教 (20330897)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): IKENO. Hidetoshi 兵庫県立大学, 環境人間学部, 教授 (80176114)
• Project Period (FY): 2010-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: 脳・神経 / 行動学 / 神経科学 / 昆虫 / 生理学

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Honeybees share information concerning profitable flowers by a species-specific behavior, the waggle dance (von Frisch, 1967). During waggle-dance communication, hive-mates of the dancer are able to decipher the positional and floral information contained within the dance, and subsequently, they arrive at the indicated flower patch. We have investigated how the hivemates encounter the waggle dancer and what neural mechanism controls the searching behavior toward the dancer. It was found that the honeybee is attracted to the dancer by both floral scent and air-borne vibration caused by wingbeats of the dancer, and a possible candidate of a descending neuron related with the searching behavior. Moreover the center for detecting positional vector information encoded in waggle dance was identified morphologically. These results will be the clue for understanding the neural mechanism related with deciphering the positional information and floral odor encoded in the waggle dance.

Free Research Field

神経行動学