Honey bee, Apis mellifera L., confinement behavior toward beetle invaders

We performed two experiments to study the hiding behavior of various beetles introduced into colonies of European honey bees, Apis mellifera L. In the first experiment, we studied the spatial distribution within confinement sites of six beetle species at eight time intervals following their introduction into honey bee observation hives. For each beetle species, we also determined whether the beetle’s level of integration into honey bee colonies correlated with its ability to hide at confinement sites within colonies. In experiment 1, we used five species of nitidulid beetles and one species of tenebrionid beetle, collectively representing three differing levels of integration into honey bee colonies. These species (and their level of integration) included Aethina tumida (highly integrated), Lobiopa insularis, and Epuraea luteola (accidentals), and Carpophilus humeralis, C. hemipterus, and Tribolium castaneum (non-integrated). There were always more A. tumida found in confinement sites than beetles of the other species. This difference became more pronounced over the 24-h observation period. In experiment 2, we determined whether previous A. tumida occupation of confinement sites predisposed those sites to hosting invading A. tumida never before exposed to honey bee colonies. The results from this study indicate that invading A. tumida find hiding sites within honey bee colonies more rapidly if other A. tumida previously occupied the confinement sites. Collectively, these studies suggest that A. tumida is unique among beetle invaders with respect to its ability to seek out and occupy confinement sites inside honey bee colonies.