关于蜂后在蜂巢中的活动。
On the movement of the honeybee queen in the hive.
作者信息
Blaha Jan, Stefanec Martin, Janota Jiří, Hofstadler Daniel Nicolas, Rouček Tomáš, Ulrich Jiří, Fedotoff Laurenz Alexander, Broughton George, Vintr Tomáš, Arvin Farshad, Schmickl Thomas, Krajník Tomáš
机构信息
Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Czech Technical University, Prague, Czechia.
Artificial Life Lab, Institute of Biology, University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
出版信息
Sci Rep. 2025 Jul 1;15(1):20708. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-07093-4.
A honeybee colony is a complex and dynamic system that emerges out of the interactions of thousands of individuals within a seemingly chaotic and heterogeneous environment. At the figurative core of this system is the honeybee queen, responsible for the growth and reproduction of the eusocial superorganism. In this study, we examine the interaction between the queen and her surrounding environment by analyzing her movement patterns using mathematical models and computational approaches. We employed a visual tracking system to observe three queens of Apis mellifera within their colonies over a three-week period and analyzed sets of quality tracklets to provide observational evidence regarding the queens' motion-related decision-making. Contrary to expectations, we found that the queen's short-term motion characteristics-such as speed and turning-were remarkably invariant across distinct hive regions, suggesting a lack of direct environmental modulation at short timescales. Yet, long-term patterns showed structured and strategic behavior. Inter-stop distances followed a power-law distribution, and queens repeatedly revisited specific spatial zones over multi-day timescales. These results indicate a dual-scale movement strategy that is not captured by standard random walk models, highlighting internal state or memory-based navigation. Our findings suggest that queen movement is shaped by temporally layered processes that may support brood nest stability, efficient egg-laying, and colony cohesion.
蜂群是一个复杂而动态的系统,它产生于数千个体在看似混乱和异质的环境中的相互作用。在这个系统的具象核心是蜂王,它负责这个群居超级生物体的生长和繁殖。在本研究中,我们通过使用数学模型和计算方法分析蜂王的运动模式,来研究蜂王与其周围环境之间的相互作用。我们采用视觉跟踪系统,在三周时间内观察了意大利蜜蜂蜂群中的三只蜂王,并分析了一系列高质量的轨迹片段,以提供有关蜂王与运动相关决策的观测证据。与预期相反,我们发现蜂王的短期运动特征,如速度和转向,在不同的蜂巢区域中非常稳定,这表明在短时间尺度上缺乏直接的环境调节。然而,长期模式显示出结构化和策略性的行为。停歇间距离遵循幂律分布,并且蜂王在多天的时间尺度上反复重访特定的空间区域。这些结果表明了一种双尺度运动策略,这是标准随机游走模型所无法捕捉到的,突出了基于内部状态或记忆的导航。我们的研究结果表明,蜂王的运动是由时间分层的过程塑造的,这些过程可能支持育雏巢的稳定性、高效产卵和蜂群凝聚力。