Behavioural Genetics and Social Environment in the Small Carpenter Bee, Ceratina Calcarata

Most bees are solitary but the eastern small carpenter bee, Ceratina calcarata, are both subsocial and facultatively social. Females form associations of parents and a single generation of offspring, often including a smaller under provisioned dwarf eldest daughter (DED) who feeds her adult siblings. To study the influence of social environment on this species, firstly, observation nests were constructed, and secondly, I conducted an experiment in the field to compare gene expression profiles among ages and phenotypes of foraging females. Observation nests were treated by removing either only mothers, or both mothers and DEDs. In the absence of mothers offspring were more tolerant, and aggression was significantly greater in the absence of both mother and DED. Here I also present brain gene expression profiles of foraging mothers, DEDs in the presence and absence of mothers, and regular daughters. I found significant differences in gene expression associated with age, size and social environment.