During reproductive swarming, some workers of the Cape honey bee, Apis mellifera capensis, lay eggs in queen cells, many of which are reared to maturity. However, it is unknown if workers are able to lay in queen cells immediately after queen loss during an episode of emergency queen rearing. In this study we experimentally de-queened colonies and determined the maternity of larvae and pupae that were reared as queens. This allowed us to determine how soon after queen loss workers contribute to the production of new queens. We were further interested to see if workers would preferentially raise new queens from queen-laid brood if this was introduced later. We performed our manipulations in two different settings: an apiary setting where colonies were situated close together and a more natural situation in which the colonies were well separated. This allowed us to determine how the vicinity of other colonies affects the presence of parasites. We found that workers do indeed contribute to queen cell production immediately after the loss of their queen, thus demonstrating that some workers either have activated ovaries even when their colony has a queen or are able to activate their ovaries extremely rapidly. Queen-laid brood introduced days after queen loss was ignored, showing that workers do not prefer to raise new queens from queen brood when given a choice. We also detected non-natal parasitism of queen cells in both settings. We therefore conclude that some A. m. capensis genotypes specialise in parasitising queen cells.

During reproductive swarming, some workers of the Cape honey bee, Apis mellifera capensis, lay eggs in queen cells, many of which are reared to maturity. However, it is unknown if workers are able to lay in queen cells immediately after queen loss during an episode of emergency queen rearing. In this study we experimentally de-queened colonies and determined the maternity of larvae and pupae that were reared as queens. This allowed us to determine how soon after queen loss workers contribute to the production of new queens. We were further interested to see if workers would preferentially raise new queens from queen-laid brood if this was introduced later. We performed our manipulations in two different settings: an apiary setting where colonies were situated close together and a more natural situation in which the colonies were well separated. This allowed us to determine how the vicinity of other colonies affects the presence of parasites. We found that workers do indeed contribute to queen cell production immediately after the loss of their queen, thus demonstrating that some workers either have activated ovaries even when their colony has a queen or are able to activate their ovaries extremely rapidly. Queen-laid brood introduced days after queen loss was ignored, showing that workers do not prefer to raise new queens from queen brood when given a choice. We also detected non-natal parasitism of queen cells in both settings. We therefore conclude that some A. m. capensis genotypes specialise in parasitising queen cells.

Supplementary data files and raw small RNA reads

Using a panel of six slime mould mitonuclear strains, we show that the growth rate of P. polycephalum is generally higher on diets containing more carbohydrates than protein. Three-way interactions between mitochondrial, nuclear haplotypes and dietary P:C ratios affected the strains' surface area of growth but not biomass. And, the strains did not increase their surface area and biomass when they had access to all diets on the buffet menu, compared to a set menu where they had access to one type of diet.

We developed a genetic panel of the unicellular slime mould, Physarum polycephalum containing strains differing in mitochondrial and nuclear DNA haplotypes. The panel included two strains harbouring a selfishly replicating mitochondrial-fusion (mF) plasmid that could affect phenotype expression. We assayed movement and growth rate differences among the strains across two temperature regimes: 24° and 28°C. The dataset contains raw data from growth rate (exp 2 growth rate.csv) and movement (exp 1 race track.csv) assays. Also included are the excel spreadsheet containing the mean phenotype values for the six mitonuclear strains across both temperatures (inter trait correlation.csv), R script file used for data analyses and a spreadsheet containing the list of gene sequences generated in the study.
The datset is linked to the Biology Letters paper: https://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2022.0494.

We developed a genetic panel of the unicellular slime mould, Physarum polycephalum containing strains differing in mitochondrial and nuclear DNA haplotypes. The panel included two strains harbouring a selfishly replicating mitochondrial-fusion (mF) plasmid that could affect phenotype expression. We assayed movement and growth rate differences among the strains across two temperature regimes: 24° and 28°C. The dataset contains raw data from growth rate (exp 2 growth rate.csv) and movement (exp 1 race track.csv) assays. Also included are the excel spreadsheet containing the mean phenotype values for the six mitonuclear strains across both temperatures (inter trait correlation.csv), R script file used for data analyses and a spreadsheet containing the list of gene sequences generated in the study.
The datset is linked to the Biology Letters paper: https://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2022.0494.

Using a panel of six slime mould mitonuclear strains, we show that the growth rate of P. polycephalum is generally higher on diets containing more carbohydrates than protein. Three-way interactions between mitochondrial, nuclear haplotypes and dietary P:C ratios affected the strains' surface area of growth but not biomass. And, the strains did not increase their surface area and biomass when they had access to all diets on the buffet menu, compared to a set menu where they had access to one type of diet.

Supplementary data files and raw small RNA reads

Using a panel of six slime mould mitonuclear strains, we show that the growth rate of P. polycephalum is generally higher on diets containing more carbohydrates than protein. Three-way interactions between mitochondrial, nuclear haplotypes and dietary P:C ratios affected the strains' surface area of growth but not biomass. And, the strains did not increase their surface area and biomass when they had access to all diets on the buffet menu, compared to a set menu where they had access to one type of diet.

We developed a genetic panel of the unicellular slime mould, Physarum polycephalum containing strains differing in mitochondrial and nuclear DNA haplotypes. The panel included two strains harbouring a selfishly replicating mitochondrial-fusion (mF) plasmid that could affect phenotype expression. We assayed movement and growth rate differences among the strains across two temperature regimes: 24° and 28°C. The dataset contains raw data from growth rate (exp 2 growth rate.csv) and movement (exp 1 race track.csv) assays. Also included are the excel spreadsheet containing the mean phenotype values for the six mitonuclear strains across both temperatures (inter trait correlation.csv), R script file used for data analyses and a spreadsheet containing the list of gene sequences generated in the study.