page_title: Trophallaxis
section_title: Invertebrates
hierarchical_section_title: Trophallaxis / Invertebrates
caption_attribution_description: English: Trophallaxis in black ants Camponotus cf. compressus
context_page_description: Trophallaxis is the transfer of food or other fluids among members of a community through mouth-to-mouth or anus-to-mouth feeding. Along with nutrients, trophallaxis can involve the transfer of molecules such as pheromones, organisms such as symbionts, and information to serve as a form of communication. Trophallaxis is used by some birds, gray wolves, vampire bats, and is most highly developed in social insects such as ants, wasps, bees, and termites.
context_section_description: Trophallaxis is a form of social feeding in many insects that contributes to the formation of social bonds. Trophallaxis serves as a means of communication, at least in bees, like M. genalis, and ants. Trophallaxis in M. genalis is part of a social exchange system, where dominant bees are usually the recipients of food. It increases longeivity of bees that have less access to food and decreases aggression between nest mates. In the red fire ant, colony members store food in their crops and regularly exchange this food with other colony members and larvae to form a sort of "communal stomach" for the colony. This is also true for certain species of Lasioglossum, such as the sweat bee  Lasioglossum hemichalceum.  L. hemichalceum will often exchange food with other members regardless of whether they are nestmates or not. This is because cooperation among non-relatives offers more benefit than cost to the group.
  Many wasps, like Protopolybia exigua and Belonogaster petiolata, exhibit foraging behavior where adults perform trophallaxis with adults and between adults and larvae. P. exigua carry nectar, wood pulp and macerated prey in its crop from the field to the nest for transfer; for larvae survival they carry amounts of prey proportional to the amount of larvae in the nest.  Voluntary trophallaxis in Xylocopa pubescens bees has led to the nest guarding behavior that the species is known for. This bee species allows one adult to forage and bring nectar back for the rest of the nest population as a way to continually defend the nest while obtaining nutrients for all members of the colony.
  In termites, proctodeal trophallaxis is crucial for replacing the gut endosymbionts that are lost after every molt. Gut symbionts are also transferred by anal trophallaxis in wood-eating termites and cockroaches. Transfer of gut symbionts in these species is essential to digest wood as their food source. Carpenter ants transfer immunity through trophallaxis by the direct transfer of antimicrobial substances, increasing disease resistance and social immunity of the colony.
  In some species of ants, it may play a role in spreading the colony odour that identifies members.
  Honey bee foragers use trophallaxis in associative learning to form long-term olfactory memories, in order to teach nest mates foraging behavior and where to search for food.
  In addition, Vespula austriaca wasps also engage in trophallaxis as a form of parasitism with its host to obtain nutrients. V. austriaca is an obligate parasite species that invades the nests of host species and obtains food by constraining the host with their legs and forcing trophallaxis.
caption: Trophallaxis in Camponotus sp.
exif: {"Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon EOS 7D", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "GIMP 2.6.11", "Image DateTime": "2014:08:10 18:46:02", "Image Artist": "Rakesh Kumar Dogra", "Image Copyright": "(c) Rakesh Kumar Dogra", "Image ExifOffset": "274", "GPS GPSVersionID": "[2, 3, 0, 0]", "Image GPSInfo": "636", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/125", "EXIF FNumber": "71/10", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "800", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2013:06:01 10:24:53", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2013:06:01 10:24:53", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "7", "EXIF ApertureValue": "45/8", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "100", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "1200", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "800", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "5852719/1024", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "5947805/1024", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard"}