By Ambar A, Laurence T, Ben H, Sam H, Grace W, Jaclyn C, Beyra T, Ross L, and Jackson L.
7
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
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Transcript of By Ambar A, Laurence T, Ben H, Sam H, Grace W, Jaclyn C, Beyra T, Ross L, and Jackson L.
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>.
