# Full Text: VideoEntomology

> Extracted from `2023_VideoEntomology.pdf`

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## Page 1

Copyright © 2023  JoVE Journal of Visualized Experiments
jove.com
February 2023 • 192 •  e65002 • Page 1 of 4
Experimental Entomology in the Age of Video
Daniel A.  Friedman1,  Judith R.  Wexler2,  Sebastian  Alvarado3
1 Department of Entomology & Nematology, University of California 2 Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, The Hebrew University in
Jerusalem 3 Department of Biology, Queens College, City University of New York
Corresponding Author
Daniel A. Friedman
danielarifriedman@gmail.com
Citation
Friedman, D.A., Wexler, J.R.,
Alvarado, S. Experimental Entomology
in the Age of Video. J. Vis. Exp. (192),
e65002, doi:10.3791/65002 (2023).
Date Published
February 10, 2023
DOI
10.3791/65002
URL
jove.com/video/65002
Abstract
ARTICLES DISCUSSED:
Smodiš Škerl, M. I. Histology basics and cell death detection in honeybee tissue.
Journal of Visualized Experiments. (185), e64141 (2022).
Fine, J. D., Torres, K. M., Martin, J., Robinson, G. E. Assessing agrochemical risk to
mated honey bee queens. Journal of Visualized Experiments. (169), e62316 (2022).
Topitzhofer, E., Lucas, H., Carlson, E., Chakrabarti, P., Sagili, R. Collection and
identification of pollen from honey bee colonies. Journal of Visualized Experiments.
(167), e62064 (2022).
Nogueira, B. R., de Oliveira, A. A., Silva, D., Pereira da Silva, J., Bueno, O.
C. Collection and long-term maintenance of leaf-cutting ants (Atta) in laboratory
conditions. Journal of Visualized Experiments. (186), e64154 (2022).
Discussion
Entomology, the science of insects, has developed over
thousands of years of human–insect interactions. As insects
exist across essentially all terrestrial surfaces and play
various critical ecological roles, theoretical and applied
entomology are central research domains for the 21st century
and beyond.
Recent technological developments, including international
accessibility to transparent video creation, are transforming
social processes of education, research, and governance.
This editorial summarizes the protocols associated with
modern entomology and aims to communicate recent
methodological developments in entomology in order to
facilitate their adoption.
In “Collection and long-term maintenance of leaf-cutting ants
(Atta) in laboratory conditions”, Nogueira et al. review the life
history of Atta leaf-cutting ants and present a protocol for
obtaining, maintaining, and studying colonies in laboratory
settings1. The methods described begin with obtaining either
a mated queen or a young colony. Various details are then
provided on nest architecture and a dietary regime that
support healthy and observable Atta colonies.

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Copyright © 2023  JoVE Journal of Visualized Experiments
jove.com
February 2023 • 192 •  e65002 • Page 2 of 4
The expertise involved in developing this method is the
product of more than three decades of fine-tuning, and
the method is highly scalable for research and education
purposes. Ants constitute a successful and diverse global
clade, and leaf-cutting ants specifically embody a fascinating
and elaborate mycological lifestyle. Hence, improved
methods for studying the development and behavior of leaf-
cutting ants have implications for fields such as eusocial
physiology and collective behavior studies, as well as science
communication.
In “Collection and identification of pollen from honey-bee
colonies”, Topitzhofer et al. describe a method for the efficient
processing of pollen brought back by honey bee (Apis
mellifera) foraging nestmates2. In the presented method, bulk
pollen is collected from returning foragers as they squeeze
through a metal mesh, which displaces grains of pollen from
their pollen basket. The collected pollen pellets are initially
sorted by color, and they can then be chemically processed
and analyzed with a microscope to determine which species
the pollen is from.
Importantly, the pipeline uses the passive collection of
pollen with an installed mesh (as opposed to manual
collection from single bees) and low-cost visual methods of
pollen identification (as opposed to electron microscopy or
metabarcoding). Honey bees forage for pollen from plants,
acquiring vital nutrition for themselves while also performing
important services for human economic, agricultural, and
social-cultural systems. Therefore, improved methods for the
assessment of honey bee health and foraging productivity
would be of interest to those involved in food production,
regional planning, and the modeling of natural capital.
In “Histology basics and cell death detection in honeybee
tissue”, Smodiš Škerl describes methods for isolating honey
bee tissues and evaluating them for different patterns of cell
turnover and death3. The protocol describes a method for
dissecting and analyzing two tissues important for digestion
and environment interfacing: the hypopharyngeal glands
(HPG) and the midgut. Patterns of cell death can be estimated
from the dissected tissues, allowing for the assessment of the
tissue-specific effects of sub-lethal chemical exposures.
Understanding the developmental bases of physiological,
behavioral, and ecological traits often requires tissue-specific
analyses. However, dissecting out specific tissues can
be a time-intensive enterprise requiring specific skills and
expertise. Smodiš Škerl’s manuscript provides a valuable
road map for researchers conducting work on the midgut
and/or the HPG of honeybees. The presented methods will
facilitate otherwise uncommon histological analyses in honey
bees and, thus, are relevant for those studying the tissue-
specific basis of development, aging, and evolution in insects.
In “Assessing agrochemical risk to mated honey bee queens”,
Fine et al. describe a method to study how honey bee workers
treated with agrochemicals provision their queen and, thus,
influence colony fecundity4. The protocol begins with the
assembly of a special enclosure for queen observation in
the context of a known number of nestmate workers fed a
known dose of nutrients and agrochemicals (in the case of the
study, imidacloprid). Egg production, embryo viability, food
consumption, and worker mortality can then be tracked and
related to agrochemical treatments.
The methods serve to bridge a divide between field and
laboratory methods and contribute to essential discussions
regarding global agricultural and apicultural practices.
Contemporary farming practices often rely upon the
application of agrochemicals with complex dose-dependent
effects on arthropod health, but the complexity of honeybee

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Copyright © 2023  JoVE Journal of Visualized Experiments
jove.com
February 2023 • 192 •  e65002 • Page 3 of 4
hives can hinder efforts to precisely measure these
effects. This manuscript provides an elegant solution to
help understand the “real-world” entomological impacts of
agricultural practices.
The articles described above highlight various scientific
methods that can be used to study the morphology,
physiology, and behavior of ants and bees. The study
of eusocial insects in vivo has long been complicated
by difficulties in the laboratory and field in terms of the
direct manipulation and observation of nestmates, the
long generation time of many species, and challenges in
scaling up experiments to the colony level. Two methods
here1,4 address these challenges with different approaches.
Specifically, in Fine et al.4, the authors report a method
for directly assessing the impact of single chemicals on
the fecundity of queens (and, thus, colonies). Additionally,
Nogueira et al.1 present a large-scale system for rearing
and observing multiple leaf-cutter ant colonies. Both these
methods have broad applicability to entomologists and
agriculturalists.
More broadly, the video presentation of methods may
increase the adoptability, proficiency, and reproducibility of
methods developed by researchers globally. This type of
methodological entomology can be seen within the context
and history of visuality5,6, tacit knowledge7, and community
participation8 in entomology.
Future work could develop along several dimensions. The
scope of species could expand beyond ants and bees to
include other insects and non-insects. Ecological databases
could be leveraged to highlight niches and species where
methods might be fruitfully applied. Entomology education
and research could explore emerging technologies such as
augmented reality, interspecies communication, robotics, and
cognitive modeling of insect-based cyberphysical systems.
More effective methods and improved empirical data will
be useful for studies applying the techniques of complexity
science (e.g., agent-based modeling, stigmergy, multi-scale
systems analysis) to insects and beyond.
Disclosures
The authors have nothing to disclose.
Acknowledgments
D.A.F. acknowledges funding from the USA National Science
Foundation (2010290).
References
1.
Nogueira, B. R., de Oliveira, A. A., Silva, D., Pereira
da Silva, J., Bueno, O. C. Collection and long-term
maintenance of leaf-cutting ants (Atta) in laboratory
conditions. Journal of Visualized Experiments. (186),
e64154 (2022).
2.
Topitzhofer, E., Lucas, H., Carlson, E., Chakrabarti, P.,
Sagili, R. Collection and identification of pollen from
honey bee colonies. Journal of Visualized Experiments.
(167), e62064 (2022).
3.
Smodiš Škerl, M. I. Histology basics and cell death
detection in honeybee tissue. Journal of Visualized
Experiments. (185), e64141 (2022).
4.
Fine, J. D., Torres, K. M., Martin, J., Robinson,
G. E. Assessing agrochemical risk to mated honey
bee queens. Journal of Visualized Experiments. (169),
e62316 (2022).
5.
Neri, J. The Insect and the Image: Visualizing Nature
in Early Modern Europe, 1500-1700. University of
Minnesota Press. Minneapolis, Minnesota (2011).

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Copyright © 2023  JoVE Journal of Visualized Experiments
jove.com
February 2023 • 192 •  e65002 • Page 4 of 4
6.
Blackwell, S. H., Johnson, K. Fine Lines: Vladimir
Nabokov’s Scientific Art. Yale University Press. New
Haven, Connecticut (2016).
7.
Hulme, P. E. EDITORIAL: Bridging the knowing-
doing gap: know-who, know-what, know-why, know-
how and know-when. Journal of Applied Ecology.51 (5),
1131-1136 (2014).
8.
Gardiner, M. M., Roy, H. E. The role of community
science in entomology. Annual Review of Entomology.
67, 437-456 (2022).


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