For example, normally gregarious spiny Caribbean lobsters shun lobsters that carry a lethal virus, even before the diseased lobster is visibly infected. Parasite avoidance behavior is found across animal taxa, where it manifests as behaviors such as cleaning and avoiding feces or avoiding diseased conspecifics. For a behavior to be considered as an anti-parasite defense the parasite must impose a cost on the host and the behavior should limit or eliminate the parasite. ![]() While parasitized bees are reported to leave the hive as foragers, their brain transcription profiles suggest that their behavior is not driven by the same molecular pathways that induce foraging behavior.īehavioral defenses are “strikingly effective” mechanisms for combating parasites but are often overlooked by studies addressing the effects of a parasite on the host immune system and related physiological processes. Parasitism by Nosema or Varroa induces changes to both the CHC profiles on the surface of the bee and transcriptomic profiles in the brain, but within the social context of the hive, does not result in observable effects on her behavior or behavior towards her. Digital gene expression (DGE) analysis of parasitized honey bee brains demonstrated that, despite the difference in developmental stage at which the bee is parasitized, Nosema and Varroa-infested bees shared more gene changes with each other than with honey bee brain expression gene sets for forager or nurse castes. destructor- parasitized bees revealed no significant differences in their behavioral acts or social interactions with nestmates. Levels of 10-HDA, an antiseptic important for social immunity, did not change in response to parasitism. ResultsĪnalysis of cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) profiles by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrophotometry (GC-MS) showed changes in honey bees parasitized by either Nosema ceranae or Varroa destructor after 5 days of infestation. We characterized the chemical, behavioral and neurogenomic changes in parasitized bees, and compared the effects of both parasites. ![]() We studied this phenomenon in honey bees parasitized by the mite Varroa destructor or microsporidia Nosema ceranae, which make bees leave the hive precociously. If parasitic modification of host behavior is widespread in social insects, the underlying physiological and neuronal mechanisms remain to be investigated. ![]() This type of social removal has also been proposed as a form of collective defense, or social immunity, in eusocial insect groups. Exclusion from a social group is an effective way to avoid parasite transmission.
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