Adipokinetic hormone (AKH), energy budget and their effect on feeding and gustatory processes of foraging honey bees

The adipokinetic hormone (AKH) of insects is considered an equivalent of the mammalian hormone glucagon as it induces fast mobilization of carbohydrates and lipids from the fat body upon starvation. Yet, in foraging honey bees, which lack fat body storage for carbohydrates, it was suggested that AKH may have lost its original function. Here we manipulated the energy budget of bee foragers to determine the effect of AKH on appetitive responses. As AKH participates in a cascade leading to acceptance of unpalatable substances in starved Drosophila, we also assessed its effect on foragers presented with sucrose solution spiked with salicin. Starved and partially-fed bees were topically exposed with different doses of AKH to determine if this hormone modifies food ingestion and sucrose responsiveness. We found a significant effect of the energy budget (i.e. starved vs. partially-fed) on the decision to ingest or respond to both pure sucrose solution and sucrose solution spiked with salicin, but no effect of AKH per se. These results are consistent with a loss of function of AKH in honey bee foragers, in accordance with a social life that implies storing energy resources in the hive, in amounts that exceed individual needs.