The role of olfactory sensitivity on task specialization in a social insect

Division of labor and task specialization are key elements explaining the remarkable ecological success of human and animal societies.

Social insect colonies are characterized by a highly effective division of labor, with workers specializing in brood care early in life and in foraging later in life.

Various theoretical models have been proposed to explain division of labor, most prominently the response threshold model, which postulates that individuals differ in their response threshold to task-associated stimuli, and will engage in particular tasks depending on this threshold.

While this model has received some experimental support, the current data still do not explain how division of labor is implemented for all different tasks of a social insect colony. How is division of labor implemented?

The success of social insect colonies lies in the capacity of all its members to behave in a well-organized manner, which involves elaborate communication among colony members.

Accordingly, ants, wasps and bees use a wide range of pheromones, intraspecific chemosensory messages, to regulate almost every aspect of their life.

Astonishingly, the role of olfaction, the main sensory modality used by insects, on the division of labor has been greatly overlooked.

Using the honey bee Apis mellifera as a model, I propose and will investigate the groundbreaking hypothesis that variation in olfactory perception and processing, especially regarding social pheromones, can give rise to division of labor. I will use a novel approach in social insects, based on newly developed neurogenetic tools.

I will compare olfactory perception and processing in the hive’s different worker task groups (nurses, foragers etc.) and will experimentally manipulate the activity of neural circuits involved in pheromone information processing, while following bees’ behavior and task allocation. In the end, Olf@Task aims to definitively establish the role of olfactory perception on the division of labor.