| Tool use aids prey- fishing in a specialist predator of stingless bees | |
| Chen, Zhaoyang; Tian, Li; Ge, Jin1; Wang, Shiyu; Chen, Ting; Duan, Yuange; Song, Fan; Cai, Wanzhi; Wang, Zhengwei2; Li, Hu | |
| 2025 | |
| Source Publication | PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
 |
| ISSN | 0027-8424 |
| Volume | 122Issue:20Pages:- |
| Abstract | Tool use is widely reported across a broad range of the animal kingdom, yet comprehensive empirical tests of its function and evolutionary drivers remain scarce, predominantly focused on a few relatively intelligent vertebrate lineages. In this study, we provide a comprehensive examination of tool use behavior in the assassin bug Pahabengkakia piliceps, a specialist predator of stingless bees that exploits resin droplet from bee nest entrance to facilitate hunting. Field behavioral experiments demonstrated that resin use is critical for hunting success, as the predator uses resin to stimulate the colonial defense of stingless bees, luring attacking bees toward its optimal hunting position. Chemical analysis revealed that resin processing by the assassin bug enhances the emission of volatile compounds, making the resin more attractive and stimulating to guard bees. Through these experiments, we empirically demonstrate how an invertebrate predator adapts to the colony defense of social insects via tool use behavior. We further propose that complex tool use can evolve under selective pressures driven by diet specialization. Our findings offer a new model for studying the adaptive functions and underlying mechanisms of tool use behaviors in animals. |
| Keyword | ASSASSIN BUG NESTMATE RECOGNITION CHEMICAL MIMICRY HEMIPTERA DEFENSE RESIN HYMENOPTERA STRATEGY APIDAE |
| Subject Area | Science & Technology - Other Topics |
| DOI | 10.1073/pnas.2422597122 |
| Indexed By | SCI |
| Language | 英语 |
| WOS ID | WOS:001496368400001 |
| Citation statistics | |
| Document Type | 期刊论文 |
| Identifier | https://ir.xtbg.ac.cn/handle/353005/14767 |
| Collection | 2012年后新成立研究组 |
| Affiliation | 1.China Agr Univ, Coll Plant Protect, State Key Lab Agr & Forestry Biosecur, Key Lab Pest Monitoring & Green Management, Beijing 100193, Peoples R China 2.Chinese Acad Sci, Inst Zool, State Key Lab Integrated Management Pest Insects &, Beijing 100101, Peoples R China 3.Chinese Acad Sci, Yunnan Key Lab Forest Ecosyst Stabil & Global Chan, Xishuangbanna Trop Bot Garden, Mengla 666303, Yunnan, Peoples R China |
| Recommended Citation GB/T 7714 | Chen, Zhaoyang,Tian, Li,Ge, Jin,et al. Tool use aids prey- fishing in a specialist predator of stingless bees[J]. PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,2025,122(20):-. |
| APA | Chen, Zhaoyang.,Tian, Li.,Ge, Jin.,Wang, Shiyu.,Chen, Ting.,...&Li, Hu.(2025).Tool use aids prey- fishing in a specialist predator of stingless bees.PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,122(20),-. |
| MLA | Chen, Zhaoyang,et al."Tool use aids prey- fishing in a specialist predator of stingless bees".PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 122.20(2025):-. |
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| Tool use aids prey- （1691KB） | 期刊论文 | 出版稿 | 开放获取 | CC BY-NC-SA | View Download | |
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