High ratio of omega-6:3 fatty acids in the diet of newly emerged honey bees contributes to precocious foraging activity

Honey bees are eusocial insects that show division of labor between the reproductive and worker castes, along with temporally dynamic age related task allocation among workers. In a colony containing a normal demography of workers with little disruption, the final task of workers is foraging. Foraging is risky and cognitively challenging, with the success of individual foragers in collecting resources having direct consequences for the health and strength of the colony. The nutrition that honey bees consume following emergence as an adult influences their development and cognitive performance. Stressors caused by environmental factors, including high intensity agriculture and urban development can cause malnutrition by limiting the availability of essential nutrients such as fatty acids. These deficits contribute to impaired cognitive performance, which may lead to precocious foraging and impaired foraging capability. In this study, we examine the effect of omega-6:3 ratio consumed by bees during their first 8 days after emergence on their age at first foraging, duration and frequency of foraging bouts, and lifetime foraging activity. Preliminary results suggest a greater proportion of bees having consumed the high omega 6:3 ratio diet become foragers, and have an earlier onset of foraging compared to bees consuming a balanced diet with an omega 6:3 ratio of one. These results suggest that a diet low in omega-3 and high in omega-6, consumed during early adult development, may result in precocious foraging activity and increase the probability that a bee will become a forager. Further analyses are needed to test these predictions.