Spare to share? How does interindividual variation in metabolic rate influence food sharing in the honeybee?

A central benefit of group living is the cooperative acquisition and sharing of resources but the costs associated with these processes can set up a potential conflict between individual and group level fitness. Within a honeybee colony, the task of resource acquisition is relegated to the foragers and any interindividual differences in their metabolic rate and the consequent carbohydrate demand may pose a constraint on the amount of resources they can contribute to the colony. We investigated whether the carbohydrate demand of a forager is a function of her metabolic rate and if this impacts the amount of food she shares with the nestmates.

Inter-individual variation in nutrient balancing in the honeybee (Apis mellifera).

The Geometric Framework approach in nutritional ecology postulates that animals attempt to balance the consumption of different nutrients rather than simply maximizing energetic gain. The intake target with respect to each nutrient maximizes fitness in a specific dimension and any difference between individuals in intake target therefore represents alternative behavioral and fitness maximization strategies. Nutritional interactions are a central component of all social groups and any inter-individual variation in intake target should therefore have a significant influence on social dynamics.