When the society dictates food search - Neural signalling underlying appetitive motivation in honey bees.

In honey bees, appetitive motivation is primarily driven by the needs of the colony rather than individual needs. The regulation of appetitive behavior is achieved through the coordinated action of neuropeptides, hormones and biogenic amines, which integrate multiple signals to ensure appropriate appetitive responses. Dopamine signalling underpins a food-related wanting system that is sensitive to aversive experiences.

The short neuropeptide F (sNPF) promotes the formation of appetitive visual memories in honey bees.

Motivation can critically influence learning and memory. Multiple neural mechanisms regulate motivational states, among which signalling via specific neuropeptides, such as NPY in vertebrates and NPF and its short variant sNPF in invertebrates, plays an essential role. The honey bee () is a privileged model for the study of appetitive learning and memory.

The short neuropeptide F regulates appetitive but not aversive responsiveness in a social insect.

The neuropeptide F (NPF) and its short version (sNPF) mediate food- and stress-related responses in solitary insects. In the honeybee, a social insect where food collection and defensive responses are socially regulated, only sNPF has an identified receptor. Here we increased artificially sNPF levels in honeybee foragers and studied the consequences of this manipulation in various forms of appetitive and aversive responsiveness.

Peripheral taste detection in honey bees: What do taste receptors respond to?

Understanding the neural principles governing taste perception in species that bear economic importance or serve as research models for other sensory modalities constitutes a strategic goal. Such is the case of the honey bee (Apis mellifera), which is environmentally and socioeconomically important, given its crucial role as pollinator agent in agricultural landscapes and which has served as a traditional model for visual and olfactory neurosciences and for research on communication, navigation, and learning and memory. Here we review the current knowledge on honey bee gustatory receptors to provide an integrative view of peripheral taste detection in this insect, highlighting specificities and commonalities with other insect species.