Honey bees turn aggressive depending on who raised them: Scientists

Q.  Scientists have found that aggression in honey bees is determined by which factor?
- Published on 04 Nov 15

a. Who feeds them?
b. Who raises them?
c. Both of the above
d. None of the above

ANSWER: Who raises them?
 
University of Illinois researchers have found that honey bees are tuned into the social culture of the hive as larvae depending on who has raised them. The researchers studied young bees weeks away from adulthood. The scientists cross fostered adult bees from gentle to more aggressive colonies and vice versa and measured their gene expression. The bees were found to have a complex pattern of gene expression influenced by personal genetic identity and environment of the colony they reside in.

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