Introduction: Insects use their antennae to detect food, mates, and predators, mainly via olfactory recognition of specific volatile compounds. Honeybees also communicate, learn complex tasks, and show adaptable behavior by recognizing and responding to specific odors. However, the relationship between the electroantennogram and the passion of honeybee has not been determined.
Methods: We established a four-channel maze system to detect the degree of sensitivity of the honeybee's antenna to different odors. In addition, electroantennography (EAG) signal was recorded from the right antennae of the honeybees in our experiments to explore electrophysiological responses to different volatiles.
Results: The olfactory sensilla on the antennae of honeybees engender distinct electrophysiological responses to different volatiles. The bees were exposed to honey, 1-hexanol and formic acid, and EAG parameters like depolarization time, falling slope, and amplitude were measured. The EAG indicators varied significantly between honey and formic acid, indicating either "happy" or "anxious" moods.
Conclusions: Honeybee can express its passion by the characteristic changes of EAG parameters. We defined a preference factor (F) to quantify the preference of bees to varying concentrations of different compounds, where greater positive values indicate an increased passion. Our findings provide novel insights into the understanding of odor recognition in insects.
Keywords: electroantennogram; honeybee; olfactory recognition; passion.
© 2020 The Authors. Brain and Behavior published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.