Form, function, and evolutionary origins of architectural symmetry in honey bee nests

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

12-16-2024

Abstract

Symmetry is pervasive across the tree of life,12345 and organisms (including humans) build symmetrical structures for reproduction, locomotion, or aesthetics.6789 Symmetry, however, does not necessarily span across levels of biological organization (e.g., symmetrical body plans often have asymmetric organs).10 If and how symmetry exists in structures built by social insect collectives, where there is no blueprint or central organizer, remains an open question.11 Here, we show that honey bees actively organize nest contents symmetrically on either side of their double-sided comb; 79% ± 7% of cell contents match their backside counterpart, creating a mirror image inside the nest. Experimentally restricting colonies to opposite sides of comb, we find that independent colonies will symmetrically mimic each other's nest organization. We then examine the mechanism by which independent colonies can indirectly coordinate nest symmetry, showing that 100% of colonies (n = 6) perfectly co-localize their brood nest with a randomly positioned heat source, indicating that heat drives nest site initiation and early brood production. Nest symmetry also has adaptive benefits: two-sided nests grow more quickly, rear more brood, and have a more stable thermal environment than one-sided nests do. Finally, examining the evolutionary origins, we show that symmetry persists in three-dimensional (3D) nests of Apis mellifera and across multiple Apis species, coinciding with the onset of double-sided combs, which made it possible to symmetrically stockpile nest contents. This work shows that, similar to molecular mechanisms that create symmetry in multicellular organisms, there are behavioral processes that create functional symmetry in the collective organization of animal architecture.

Identifier

85210094632 (Scopus)

Publication Title

Current Biology

External Full Text Location

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2024.10.022

e-ISSN

18790445

ISSN

09609822

PubMed ID

39515324

First Page

5813

Last Page

5821.e5

Issue

24

Volume

34

Grant

2216835

Fund Ref

Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station

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