Editing Africanized bee (section)

== Foraging behavior ==
Africanized honey bees begin foraging at young ages and harvest a greater quantity of pollen compared to their European counterparts (''Apis mellifera ligustica''). This may be linked to the high reproductive rate of the Africanized honey bee, which requires pollen to feed its greater number of larvae.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Winston ML, Taylor O, Otis GW |year=1983 |title=Some differences between temperate European and tropical African and South American honeybees |journal=Bee World |volume=64 |pages=12–21 |doi=10.1080/0005772x.1983.11097902}}</ref> Africanized honey bees are also sensitive to sucrose at lower concentrations. This adaptation causes foragers to harvest resources with low concentrations of sucrose that include water, pollen, and unconcentrated nectar. A study comparing [[African honey bee|''A. m. scutellata'']] and [[Italian bee|''A. m. ligustica'']] published by Fewell and Bertram in 2002 suggests that the differential evolution of this suite of behaviors is due to the different environmental pressures experienced by African and European subspecies.<ref name="Fewell and Bertram, 2002">{{cite journal |last1=Fewell |first1=Jennifer H. |last2=Bertram |first2=Susan M. |title=Evidence for genetic variation in worker task performance by African and European honeybees |journal=Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology |year=2002 |volume=52 |issue=4 |pages=318–325 |doi=10.1007/s00265-002-0501-3|bibcode=2002BEcoS..52..318F |s2cid=22128779 }}</ref>

=== Proboscis extension responses ===
Honey bee sensitivity to different concentrations of sucrose is determined by a reflex known as the proboscis extension response (PER). Different species of honey bees that employ different foraging behaviors will vary in the concentration of sucrose that elicits their proboscis extension response.<ref>{{Cite journal |doi=10.1007/s002650050664 |title=Response thresholds to sucrose predict foraging division of labor in honeybees |journal=Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology |volume=47 |issue=4 |pages=265 |year=2000 |last1=Pankiw |first1=T. Jr. |last2=Page |first2=R.E.|bibcode=2000BEcoS..47..265P |s2cid=37726780 }}</ref>

For example, European honey bees (''Apis mellifera ligustica'') forage at older ages and harvest less pollen and more concentrated nectar. The differences in resources collected during harvesting are a result of the European honey bee's sensitivity to sucrose at higher concentrations.<ref name=Pankiw_2003/>

=== Evolution ===
The differences in a variety of behaviors between different species of honey bees are the result of a [[directional selection]] that acts upon several foraging behavior traits as a common entity.<ref name=Pankiw_2003>{{cite journal |last=Pankiw |first=Tanya |title=Directional change in a suite of foraging behaviors in tropical and temperate evolved honey bees (''Apis mellifera'' L) |journal=Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology |volume=54 |year=2003 |issue=5 |pages=458–464 |doi=10.1007/s00265-003-0640-1 |jstor=25063290|bibcode=2003BEcoS..54..458P |s2cid=24990910 }}</ref> Selection in natural populations of honey bees show that positive selection of sensitivity to low concentrations of sucrose are linked to foraging at younger ages and collecting resources low in sucrose. Positive selection of sensitivity to high concentrations of sucrose were linked to foraging at older ages and collecting resources higher in sucrose.<ref name=Pankiw_2003 /> Additionally of interest, "change in one component of a suite of behaviors appear[s] to direct change in the entire suite."<ref name=Pankiw_2003 /><ref name=Davies>{{cite book |last=Davies |first=Nicholas B. |title=An Introduction to Behavioral Ecology |year=2012 |publisher=Wiley-Blackwell |location=UK |isbn=978-1-4051-1416-5 |page=2 |chapter=Chapter&nbsp;1}}</ref><ref group=lower-alpha>'''Proximate causes''': There are multiple ways of considering the cause of directional selection on this set of foraging behaviors in honey bees. A proximate factor is one that is developmental and influential on behavior within the lifetime of an organism. Neurological and developmental differences lead to directional selection and changes in the set of foraging behaviors between generations of honey bees. Levels of stress as measured by levels of octopamine is one such contributing developmental factor (Pankiw, 2003).</ref><ref group=lower-alpha>'''Ultimate causes''': An ultimate factor is one that explains long term evolutionary advantages of behavior in an organism (Davies, 2012). {{Slink||Proboscis extension response}} to different concentrations of sucrose is a genotypic trait; the genes vary with respect to the sucrose concentration level at which proboscis extension response is manifested. Natural selection is able to directly shift the set of foraging behaviors by operating on the distribution of these genes in the honey bee population (Pankiw, 2003).</ref>

When resource density is low in Africanized honey bee habitats, it is necessary for the bees to harvest a greater variety of resources because they cannot afford to be selective. Honey bees that are genetically inclined towards resources high in sucrose, such as concentrated nectar, will not be able to sustain themselves in harsher environments. The noted {{Slink||Proboscis extension response}} to low sucrose concentration in Africanized honey bees may be a result of selective pressure in times of scarcity when their survival depends on their attraction to low quality resources.{{Citation needed|date=September 2023}}