Organization enhances collective vigilance in the hovering guards of Tetragonisca angustula bees.

ABSTRACT: One benefit of group living is vigilance against predators. Previous studies have investigated the group size effect, where individual vigilance decreases as group size increases without reducing the overall ability of the group to detect predators. However, there has been comparatively little research on whether the positioning of individuals can improve the collective vigilance of the group. We studied the coordination of vigilance and its effect on predator detection in the eusocial bee Tetragonisca angustula. Nests are defended by hovering guards that detect and intercept intruders before they reach the nest entrance, in addition to those that stand upon it. We show that hovering guards are positioned nonrandomly, with a strong tendency for equal numbers on both sides of the ent

SUBMITTER: Shackleton K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6129946 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Sep-Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature