ArticleJournal of comparative physiology. A, Neuroethology, sensory, neural, and behavioral physiology2019
Bumblebees are able to perceive amino acids via chemotactile antennal stimulation.
Article in Journal of comparative physiology. A, Neuroethology, sensory, neural, and behavioral physiology, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 57 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Sulfoxaflor reduces food intake and learning efficiency of solitary Osmia bicornis bees.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Oxidation and allocation of nectar amino acids during butterfly flight.The Journal of experimental biology · 2026Article
- Bumblebees learn to use antennal and tarsal taste to predict the presence of nectar rewards in flowers.The Journal of experimental biology · 2025Article
- Gustatory sensitivity to amino acids in bumblebee mouthparts.Royal Society open science · 2025Article
- Do pollinators play a role in shaping the essential amino acids found in nectar?The New phytologist · 2025Article
- Review
- In Which Way Do the Flower Properties of the Specialist OrchidInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2023Article
- Gustation in insects: taste qualities and types of evidence used to show taste function of specific body parts.Journal of insect science (Online) · 2023Article
- Fertilizer and herbicide alter nectar and pollen quality with consequences for pollinator floral choices.PeerJ · 2023Article
- Complex relationship between amino acids, fitness and food intake in Bombus terrestris.Amino acids · 2021Article
- Associative learning of non-sugar nectar components: amino acids modify nectar preference in a hawkmoth.The Journal of experimental biology · 2021Article
- Climate Change-Induced Stress Reduce Quantity and Alter Composition of Nectar and Pollen From a Bee-Pollinated Species (Frontiers in plant science · 2021Article
- Article
- Article
- Adding Amino Acids to a Sucrose Diet Is Not Sufficient to Support Longevity of Adult Bumble Bees.Insects · 2020Article
- Pollen Protein: Lipid Macronutrient Ratios May Guide Broad Patterns of Bee Species Floral Preferences.Insects · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Like all animals, bees need to consume essential amino acids to maintain their body's protein synthesis. Perception and discrimination of amino acids are, however, still poorly understood in bees (and insects in general). We used chemotactile conditioning of the proboscis extension response (PER) to examine (1) whether Bombus terrestris workers are able to perceive amino acids by means of their antennae and (if so) which ones, (2) whether they are able to differentiate between different amino acids, and (3) whether they are able to differentiate between different concentrations of the same amino acid. We found that workers perceived asparagine, cysteine, hydroxyproline, glutamic acid, lysine, phenylalanine, and serine, but not alanine, leucine, proline, or valine by means of their antennae. Surprisingly, they were unable to differentiate between different (perceivable) amino acids, but they distinguished between different concentrations of lysine. Consequently, bumblebees seem to possess amino acid receptors at the tip of their antennae, which enable a general perception of those solute amino acids that have an additional functional group (besides the common amino and carboxylic groups). They may thus have the ability to assess the overall amino acid content of pollen and nectar prior to ingestion.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.