THE EFFECT OF SPIDER WEBS ON APIS MELLIFERA FEEDING BEHAVIOR

By Ambar A, Laurence T, Ben H, Sam H, Grace W, Jaclyn C, Beyra T, Ross L, and Jackson L

Introduction Why are Apis mellifera disappearing

so quickly? Do bees have the ability to see a

predator’s home and avoid it? Hypothesis and Prediction: If the Apis

mellifera avoid predators because they can see the lair, and avoid these areas, and we set up 2 feeding dishes, one that is our control and one with a predator’s lair on it, then the bees should avoid the dish with the lair.

Method

Experimental design Number of bees fed and where Observations of bee behavior 15 minutes

Switch petri dishes every 2.5 min.

Sample size n=94

Figure 1: Experimental Design

Results

04080

NUMBER OF BEES ON FEEDING DISHES

Control DishExperiment DishTotal

Control Dish

Experimental Dish

Total P-Value

Group 1 30 21 510.13121

9

Group 2 14 11 250.34501

9

Group 3 16 2 180.00065

6

Groups Combined

60 34 940.00477

4

Control Dish

Experimental Dish

Total P-Value

Group 1 30 21 510.13121

9

Group 2 14 11 250.34501

9

Group 3 16 2 180.00065

6

Groups Combined

60 34 940.00477

4

Conclusion

Apis mellifera actively avoid environments that may subject the organisms to danger, such as spider webs.

Data and research shows: Apis mellifera's vision is an important part of their ability to defend

against predators. (Blackledge, 1999)

Thank You! The Nieh Lab

Dr. Eben Goodale

Jim Berrian and James Hung

Works Cited Drees, B.M. "Honey Bee." Entomology at Texas A&M

University - Home. Agrilife. Web. 02 Sept. 2011. <http://insects.tamu.edu/fieldguide/cimg341.html>.

Kaplan, Kim. "ARS : Questions and Answers: Colony Collapse Disorder." ARS : Home. United States Department of Agriculture, 17 Dec. 2010. Web. 05 Sept. 2011. <http://www.ars.usda.gov/News/docs.htm?docid=15572>.

“Bee Research Products and Services." ARS : Home. United States Department of Agriculture, 6 Sept. 2007. Web. 16 Oct. 2011. <http://www.ars.usda.gov/Services/docs.htm?docid=15908>.

"Honeybee Colony Collapse Disorder | Pesticides | US EPA." US Environmental Protection Agency. United States Environmental Protection Agency, 18 Feb. 2011. Web. 05 Sept. 2011. <http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/about/intheworks/honeybee.htm>.

Blackledge, Todd A., and John W. Wenzell. "The Evolution of Cryptic Spider Silk: a Behavioral Test." Behavior Ecology. Oxford Journals, 26 July 1999. Web. 8 Nov. 2011. <http://beheco.oxfordjournals.org/content/11/2/142.full>.