Common endocrine and genetic mechanisms of behavioral development in male and worker honey bees and the evolution of division of labor.

Temporal polyethism is a highly derived form of behavioral development displayed by social insects. Hormonal and genetic mechanisms regulating temporal polyethism in worker honey bees have been identified, but the evolution of these mechanisms is not well understood. We performed three experiments with male honey bees (drones) to investigate how mechanisms regulating temporal polyethism may have evolved because, relative to workers, drones display an intriguing combination of similarities and differences in behavioral development. We report that behavioral development in drones is regulated by mechanisms common to workers. In experiment 1, drones treated with the juvenile hormone (JH) analog methoprene started flying at significantly younger ages than did control drones, as is the case for workers. In experiment 2, there was an age-related increase in JH associated with the onset of drone flight, as in workers. In experiment 3, drones derived from workers with fast rates of behavioral development themselves started flying at younger ages than drones derived from workers with slower rates of behavioral development. These results suggest that endocrine and genetic mechanisms associated with temporal polyethism did not evolve strictly within the context of worker social behavior.

The Bruce Collection of Eskimo material culture from Port Clarence, Alaska / James W. VanStone, Curator, North American Archaeology and Ethnology, Field Museum of Natural History.

v.67(1976)

The Simms Collection of Plains Cree material culture from southeastern Saskatchewan / James W. VanStone, Curator, North American Archaeology and Ethnology, Dept. of Anthropology, Field Museum of Natural History.

n.s. no.6(1983)

The Speck collection of Montagnais material culture from the Lower St. Lawrence Drainage, Quebec / James W. VanStone, Curator, North American Archaeology and Ethnology, Field Museum of Natural History.

n.s. no.5(1982)

The Harvard collection of Ismaili literature in Indic languages: a descriptive catalog and finding aid

Ali S. Asani.