Genotypic intragroup variance and hoarding behaviour in honeybees (Apis mellifera L.)

Abstract

Sugar consumption and hoarding behaviour of groups of honeybee workers were measured. Groups with different genotypic intragroup variabilities were tested to detect a relationship between intragroup variance and cooperative group efficiency. A significant correlation was found between genotypic variance and with both sugar consumption and hoarding behaviour. High intragroup variance caused a low hoarding performance, a high food consumption and a low sugar concentration in the stored sugar syrup. It is concluded that the genotypic variance of a group has a strong influence on the expression of social behaviour in groups.