Abstract
Apis mellifera jemenitica is the indigenous race of honey bees in the Arabian Peninsula and is tolerant to local drought conditions. Experiments were undertaken to determine the differences in associative learning and memory of honey bee workers living in the arid zone of Saudi Arabia, utilizing the proboscis extension response (PER). These experiments were conducted on the indigenous race (A. m. jemenitica) along with two introduced European races (A. m. carnica and A. m. ligustica). The data revealed that A. m. jemenitica is amenable to PER conditioning and may be used in conditioning experiments within the olfactory behavioral paradigm. The results also demonstrated that the three races learn and retain information with different capacities relative to each other during the experimental time periods. Native Arabian bees (A. m. jemenitica) exhibited significantly lower PER percentage during second and third conditioning trials when compared to exotic races. Apis mellifera jemenitica also exhibited reduced memory retention at 2 h and 24 h when compared to A. m. carnica and A. m. ligustica. Therefore, the native Arabian bees were relatively slow learners with reduced memory retention compared to the other two races that showed similar learning and memory retention. Three or five conditioning trials and monthly weather conditions (October and December) had no significant effects on learning and memory in A. m. jemenitica. These results emphasized a novel line of research to explore the mechanism and differences in associative learning as well as other forms of learning throughout the year among bee races in the harsh arid conditions of Saudi Arabia. This is the first study in Saudi Arabia to demonstrate inter-race differences regarding olfactory associative learning between native Arabian bees and two introduced European honey bee races.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Journal | Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences |
| DOIs | |
| State | Accepted/In press - Jan 1 2018 |
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Keywords
- Associative learning
- Honey bee races
- Memory formation
- Olfaction
- Proboscis extension response
- Saudi Arabia
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Agricultural and Biological Sciences(all)
Cite this
Olfactory associative behavioral differences in three honey bee Apis mellifera L. races under the arid zone ecosystem of central Saudi Arabia. / Iqbal, Javaid; Ali, Hussain; Owayss, Ayman A.; Raweh, Hael S.A.; Engel, Michael S.; Alqarni, Abdulaziz S.; Smith, Brian.
In: Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences, 01.01.2018.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Olfactory associative behavioral differences in three honey bee Apis mellifera L. races under the arid zone ecosystem of central Saudi Arabia
AU - Iqbal, Javaid
AU - Ali, Hussain
AU - Owayss, Ayman A.
AU - Raweh, Hael S.A.
AU - Engel, Michael S.
AU - Alqarni, Abdulaziz S.
AU - Smith, Brian
PY - 2018/1/1
Y1 - 2018/1/1
N2 - Apis mellifera jemenitica is the indigenous race of honey bees in the Arabian Peninsula and is tolerant to local drought conditions. Experiments were undertaken to determine the differences in associative learning and memory of honey bee workers living in the arid zone of Saudi Arabia, utilizing the proboscis extension response (PER). These experiments were conducted on the indigenous race (A. m. jemenitica) along with two introduced European races (A. m. carnica and A. m. ligustica). The data revealed that A. m. jemenitica is amenable to PER conditioning and may be used in conditioning experiments within the olfactory behavioral paradigm. The results also demonstrated that the three races learn and retain information with different capacities relative to each other during the experimental time periods. Native Arabian bees (A. m. jemenitica) exhibited significantly lower PER percentage during second and third conditioning trials when compared to exotic races. Apis mellifera jemenitica also exhibited reduced memory retention at 2 h and 24 h when compared to A. m. carnica and A. m. ligustica. Therefore, the native Arabian bees were relatively slow learners with reduced memory retention compared to the other two races that showed similar learning and memory retention. Three or five conditioning trials and monthly weather conditions (October and December) had no significant effects on learning and memory in A. m. jemenitica. These results emphasized a novel line of research to explore the mechanism and differences in associative learning as well as other forms of learning throughout the year among bee races in the harsh arid conditions of Saudi Arabia. This is the first study in Saudi Arabia to demonstrate inter-race differences regarding olfactory associative learning between native Arabian bees and two introduced European honey bee races.
AB - Apis mellifera jemenitica is the indigenous race of honey bees in the Arabian Peninsula and is tolerant to local drought conditions. Experiments were undertaken to determine the differences in associative learning and memory of honey bee workers living in the arid zone of Saudi Arabia, utilizing the proboscis extension response (PER). These experiments were conducted on the indigenous race (A. m. jemenitica) along with two introduced European races (A. m. carnica and A. m. ligustica). The data revealed that A. m. jemenitica is amenable to PER conditioning and may be used in conditioning experiments within the olfactory behavioral paradigm. The results also demonstrated that the three races learn and retain information with different capacities relative to each other during the experimental time periods. Native Arabian bees (A. m. jemenitica) exhibited significantly lower PER percentage during second and third conditioning trials when compared to exotic races. Apis mellifera jemenitica also exhibited reduced memory retention at 2 h and 24 h when compared to A. m. carnica and A. m. ligustica. Therefore, the native Arabian bees were relatively slow learners with reduced memory retention compared to the other two races that showed similar learning and memory retention. Three or five conditioning trials and monthly weather conditions (October and December) had no significant effects on learning and memory in A. m. jemenitica. These results emphasized a novel line of research to explore the mechanism and differences in associative learning as well as other forms of learning throughout the year among bee races in the harsh arid conditions of Saudi Arabia. This is the first study in Saudi Arabia to demonstrate inter-race differences regarding olfactory associative learning between native Arabian bees and two introduced European honey bee races.
KW - Associative learning
KW - Honey bee races
KW - Memory formation
KW - Olfaction
KW - Proboscis extension response
KW - Saudi Arabia
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85051060762&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85051060762&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.sjbs.2018.08.002
DO - 10.1016/j.sjbs.2018.08.002
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85051060762
JO - Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences
JF - Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences
SN - 1319-562X
ER -