• Colomer-Vilaplana, A., Williams, T., Glaser, S.M. & Grüter, C. 2025. Social learning of navigational routes in tandem running acorn ants (Temnothorax nylanderi). Animal Behaviour, in press.

  • Balbuena, M. S. & Grüter, C. 2024. Use of plant resins for defense and nest building in stingless bees. In Stingless Bee Nest Cerumen and Propolis, Volume 1, eds.: Vit. P. et al., Springer Nature, Switzerland. pdf

  • Grüter, C., Segers, F.H.I.D. & Hayes, L. 2024. Extensive loss of forage diversity in social bees due to flower constancy in simulated environments. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 291: 20241036. pdf

  • Peng, T., Kennedy, A., Wu, Y., Foitzik, S. & Grüter, C. 2024. Early life exposure to queen mandibular pheromone mediates persistent transcriptional changes in the brain of honey bee foragers. Journal of Experimental Biology, 227: jeb247516. pdf

  • Wu, Y., Peng, T., Menzel, F. & Grüter, C. 2024. Low food stores affect dance communication and health-related gene expression in honeybees. Animal Behaviour, 216: 131-139. pdf

  • Alves, D.A., George, E.A., Kaur, R., Brockmann, A., Hrncir, M. & Grüter, C. 2023. Diverse communication strategies in bees as a window into adaptations to an unpredictable world. PNAS, 120: e2219031120. pdf

  • Grüter, C., Balbuena, M.S. & Valadares, L. 2023. Mechanisms and adaptations that shape division of labour in stingless bees. Current Opinion in Insect Science, 58: 101057. pdf

  • Glaser, S.M. & Grüter, C. 2023. Social and individual learners use different pathways to success in an ant mini-society. Animal Behaviour, 198: 1-9. pdf

  • Hayes, L. & Grüter, C. 2023. When should bees be flower constant? An agent-based model highlights the importance of social information and foraging conditions. Journal of Animal Ecology,  in press. pdf

  • Grüter, C. & Hayes, L. 2022. Sociality is a key driver of foraging ranges in bees. Current Biology, 32: 5390-5397. pdf

  • Segers, F.H.I.D., Grüter, C., Menezes, C., Mateus, S. & Ratnieks, F.L.W. 2022. Correlated expression of phenotypic and extended phenotypic traits across stingless bee species: worker eye morphology, foraging behavior, and nest entrance architecture. Journal of Apicultural Research, 61: 598-608. pdf

  • Glaser, S.M. & Grüter, C. 2022. Ancestral state reconstruction suggests repeated losses of recruitment communication during ant evolution (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). BioRxiv, https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.05.18.492496

  • I’Anson Price, R., Segers, F., Berger, A., Nascimento, F.S. & Grüter, C. 2021.  An exploration of the relationship between recruitment communication and foraging in stingless bees. Current Zoology, 67: 551–560. pdf

  • Kennedy, A., Peng, T., Glaser, S.M., Linn, M., Foitzik, S. & Grüter, C. 2021. Use of waggle dance information in honey bees is linked to gene expression in the antennae, but not in the brain. Molecular Ecology, 30:2676-2688. pdf

  • Glaser, S.M., Feitosa, R., Koch, A., Goß, N., Nascimento, F.S. & Grüter, C. 2021. Tandem communication improves ant foraging success in a highly competitive tropical habitat. Insectes Sociaux, 68: 161–172. pdf

  • Peng, T., Derstroff, D., Maus, L., Bauer, T. & Grüter, C. 2021. Forager age and foraging state, but not cumulative foraging activity, affect biogenic amine receptor gene expression in the honeybee mushroom bodies. Genes, Brain and Behavior, 20: e12722. pdf

  • Peng, T., Pedrosa, J., Batista, J.E., Nascimento F.S. & Grüter, C. 2021. Foragers of the stingless bee Plebeia droryana inform nestmates about the direction, but not the distance to food sources. Ecological Entomology, 46: 33-40. pdf

  • Wagner, T., Bachenberg, L., Glaser, S.M., Linn, M. & Grüter, C. 2021. Large body size variation is associated with low communication success in tandem running ants. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 75: 4. pdf

  • Goy, N., Glaser, S.M. & Grüter. 2021. The adaptive value of tandem communication in ants: insights from an agent-based model. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 526: 110762. pdf

  • Arenas, A., Lajad, R., Peng, T., Grüter, C., Farina, W.M. 2020. Correlation between octopaminergic signaling and foraging task specialization in honeybees. Genes, Brain and Behavior, e12718. pdf

  • Linn, M., Glaser, S.M., Peng, T. & Grüter, C. 2020. Octopamine and dopamine mediate dance following and information-use in honeybees. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 287: 20201950. pdf

  • Grüter, C. 2020. Stingless Bees: Their Behaviour, Ecology and Evolution. Springer International Publishing, pp. 385. Link pdf

  • Peng, T., Schröder, M. & Grüter, C. 2020. Octopamine increases individual and collective foraging in a neotropical stingless bee. Biology Letters, 16: 20200238. pdf

  • Peng, T., Segers, F.H.I.D., Nascimento, F.S. & Grüter, C. 2019. Resource profitability, but not caffeine affects individual and collective foraging in the stingless bee Plebeia droryana. Journal of Experimental Biology, 222: jeb195503. pdf

  • Baudier, K., Ostwald, M., Grüter, C., Segers, F., Roubik, D., Pavlic, T., Pratt, S. & Fewell, J. 2019. Changing of the guard: mixed specialization and flexibility in nest defense (Tetragonisca angustula). Behavioral Ecology, 30: 1041-1049. pdf

  • Mateus, S., Ferreira-Caliman, M., Menezes, C. & Grüter, C. 2019. Beyond temporal-polyethism: division of labor in the eusocial bee Melipona marginata. Insectes Sociaux, 66: 317-328. pdf

  • Grüter, C. & Czaczkes, T. J. 2019. Communication in social insects and how it is shaped by experience. Animal Behaviour, 151: 207-215. pdf

  • I’Anson Price, R., Dulex, N., Vial, N., Vincent, C. & Grüter, C. 2019. Honeybees forage more successfully without the "dance language" in challenging environments. Science Advances, 5: eaat0450. pdf

  • Grüter, C. 2018. Repeated switches from cooperative to selfish worker oviposition during stingless bee evolution. Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 31: 1843-1851. pdf

  • Glaser, S. & Grüter, C. 2018. Ants (Temnothorax nylanderi) adjust tandem running when food source distance exposes them to greater risks. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 72: 40. pdf

  • Grüter, C., Jongepier, E. & Foitzik, S. 2018. Insect societies fight back: the evolution of defensive traits against social parasites. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, 373: 20170200. pdf

  • Grüter, C., Wüst, M., Cipriano, A.P.  & Nascimento, F.S. 2018. Tandem recruitment and foraging in the ponerine ant Pachycondyla harpax (Fabricius). Neotropical Entomology, 47: 742-749. pdf

  • Grüter, C., Segers, F.H.I.D., Santos, L.L.G., Hammel, B., Zimmermann, U. & Nascimento, F.S. 2017. Enemy recognition is linked to soldier size in a polymorphic stingless bee. Biology Letters, 13: 20170511. pdf

  • Grüter, C., Segers, F.*, Menezes, C., von Zuben, L., Vollet-Neto, A., Falcon, T., Bitondi, M., Nascimento, F.S. & Almeida, E. 2017. Repeated evolution of soldier sub-castes suggests parasitism drives social complexity in stingless bees. Nature Communications, 8: 4. (*co-first author) pdf

  • Sauthier, R., I'Anson Price, R., Grüter, C. 2017. Worker size in honeybees and its relationship with season and foraging distance. Apidologie, 48: 234-246. pdf

  • Pasquier, G. & Grüter, C. 2016. Individual learning and exploration are linked to colony foraging success in a mass-recruiting ant. Behavioral Ecology, 27: 1702-1709. pdf

  • I'Anson Price, R., Grüter, C., Hughes, W.O.H., Evison, S.E.F. 2016. Symmetry breaking in mass-recruiting ants: extent of foraging biases depends on resource quality. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 70: 1813-1820. pdf

  • Grüter, C., von Zuben, L., Segers, F.H.I.D.  &  Cunningham, J.P. 2016. Warfare in stingless bees. Insectes Sociaux, 63: 223-236. pdf

  • Segers, F.H.I.D., von Zuben, L. &  Grüter, C. 2016. Local differences in parasitism and competition shape defensive investment in a polymorphic eusocial bee. Ecology, 97: 417-426. pdf

  • Grüter, C. & Keller, L. 2016. Inter-caste communication in social insects. Current Opinion in Neurobiology, 38: 6-11. pdf

  • Hammel, B., Vollet-Neto, A, Menezes, C., Nascimento, F.S., Engels, W. &  Grüter, C. 2016. Soldiers in a stingless bee: work rate and task repertoire suggest they are an elite force. The American Naturalist, 187: 120-129. pdf 

  • I'Anson Price, R. &  Grüter, C. 2015. Why, when and where did honey bee dance communication evolve? Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 3: 125. pdf
  • Grüter, C., Maitre, D., Blakey, A., Cole, R. & Ratnieks, F.L.W. 2015. Collective decision-making in a heterogeneous environment: Lasius niger colonies preferentially forage at easy to learn locations. Animal Behaviour, 104: 189-195. pdf
  • Segers, F.H.I.D., Menezes, A., Vollet-Neto, A. Lambert, D. &  Grüter, C. 2015. Soldier production in a stingless bee depends on rearing location and nurse behaviour. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 69: 613-623. pdf 
  • Czaczkes, T.J.,  Grüter, C. & Ratnieks, F.L.W. 2015. Trail pheromones: An integrative view of their role in colony organization. Annual Review of Entomology, 60: 581-599. pdf
  • Schürch, R. & Grüter, C. 2014. Dancing bees improve colony foraging success as long-term benefits outweigh short-term costs. PLoS ONE, 9: e104660. pdf
  • Grüter, C. & Leadbeater, E. 2014. Insights from insects about adaptive social information use. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 29: 177-184. pdf
  • Czaczkes, T.J., Grüter, C. & Ratnieks, F.L.W. 2014. Rapid up- and down regulation of pheromone signalling due to trail crowding in the ant Lasius niger. Behaviour, 151: 669-682. pdf
  • Al Toufailia, H.M., Grüter, C. & Ratnieks, F.L.W. 2013. Persistence to unrewarding feeding locations by forager honey bees (Apis mellifera): the effects of experience, resource profitability, and season. Ethology, 119: 1096-1106. pdf
  • Grüter, C., Segers, F.H.I.D. & Ratnieks, F.L.W. 2013. Social learning strategies in honey bee foragers: do the costs of using private information affect the use of social information? Animal Behaviour, 85:  1443-1449. pdf
  • Grüter, C., Schürch, R. & Farina, W.M. 2013. Task-partitioning in insect societies: non-random direct material transfers affect both colony efficiency and information flow. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 327: 23-33. pdf NetLogo file
  • Al Toufailia, H.M., Couvillon, M.J., Ratnieks, F.L.W. & Grüter, C. 2013. Honey bee waggle dance communication: signal meaning and signal noise affect dance follower behaviour. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 67: 549-556. pdf
  • Czaczkes, T.J., Grüter, C. & Ratnieks, F.L.W. 2013. Negative feedback in ants: crowding results in less trail pheromone deposition. Journal of  the Royal Society Interface, 10: 20121009. pdf
  • Czaczkes, T.J., Grüter, C., Ellis, L, Wood, E. & Ratnieks, F.L.W. 2013. Ant foraging on complex trails: Route learning and the role of trail pheromones in Lasius niger. Journal of Experimental Biology, 216, 188-197. pdf

  • Bigio, G., Grüter, C. & Ratnieks, F.L.W. 2012. Comparing alternative methods for holding virgin honey bee queens for one week in mailing cages before mating. PLoS ONE, 7(11): e50150. pdf

  • Grüter, C., Schürch, R., Czaczkes, T.J., Taylor, K., Durance, T., Jones, S.M. & Ratnieks, F.L.W. 2012. Negative feedback enables fast and flexible collective decision-making in ants. PLoS ONE, 7(9): e44501. pdf NetLogo file

  • Grüter, C., Menezes, C.*, Imperatriz-Fonseca, V. & Ratnieks, F.L.W. 2012. A morphologically specialised soldier caste improves colony defense in a Neotropical eusocial bee. PNAS, 109, 1182-1186. (*co-first author) pdf The Guardian ScienceNow The Daily Mail Globo

  • Jones, S.M., van Zweden, J., Grüter, C., Menezes, C., Alves, D.A., Nunes-Silva, P., Czaczkes, T.J. & Ratnieks, F.L.W. 2012. The role of wax and resin in the nestmate recognition system of the stingless bee Tetragonisca angustula. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 66, 1-12. pdf
  • Czaczkes, T.J., Grüter, C., Jones, S.M. & Ratnieks, F.L.W. 2012. Uncovering the complexity of ant foraging trails. Communicative and Integrative Biology, 5, 78-80. pdf
  • Farina, W.M., Grüter, C. & Arenas, A. 2012. Olfactory information transfer during recruitment in honeybees. In: Honeybee neurobiology and behavior - a tribute for Randolf Menzel. Eds.: Eisenhardt, D., Galizia, C.G. & Giurfa, M., Springer Verlag. pdf
  • Grüter, C. & Ratnieks, F.L.W. 2011. Honeybee foragers increase the use of waggle dance information when using private information becomes unrewarding. Animal Behaviour, 81: 949-954. pdf

  • Grüter, C. & Ratnieks, F.L.W. 2011. Flower constancy in pollinators: adaptive behaviour or cognitive limitation? Communicative and Integrative Biology 4, 1-4. pdf

  • Czaczkes, T., Grüter, C., Jones, S. & Ratnieks, F.L.W. 2011. Synergy between social and private information increases foraging efficiency in ants. Biology Letters, 7: 521-524. pdf

  • van Zweden, Grüter, C., Jones, S. & Ratnieks, F.L.W. 2011. Hovering guards of the stingless bee Tetragonisca angustula increase defensive perimeter as shown by intra- and inter-specific comparisons. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 65: 1277-1282. pdf

  • Grüter, C., Moore, H., Firmin, N., Helanterä, H. & Ratnieks, F.L.W. 2011. Flower constancy in honeybees (Apis mellifera) depends on ecologically realistic rewards. Journal of Experimental Biology, 214: 1397-1402. pdf

  • Grüter, C. 2011. Communication in social insects: sophisticated problem solving by small brains. In: Animal thinking: Contemporary issues in comparative cognition. Eds.: Fischer, J., Menzel, R., Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. pdf

  • Wheeler, B., Searcy, W.A., Christiansen, M.H., Corballis, M.C., Fischer, J., Grüter, C., Margoliash, D., Owren, M.J., Price, T., Seyfarth, R. & Wild, M. 2011. Communication. In: Animal thinking: Contemporary issues in comparative cognition. Eds.: Fischer, J., Menzel, R., Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. pdf

  • Grüter, C., Kärcher, M. & Ratnieks, F.L.W. 2011. The natural history of nest defence in a stingless bee, Tetragonisca angustula (Latreille) (Hymenoptera: Apidae), with two distinct types of entrance guards. Neotropical Entomology, 40: 55-61. pdf

  • Grüter, C., Czaczkes, T. & Ratnieks, F.L.W. 2011. Decision-making in Lasius niger foragers facing conflicting private and social information. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 65: 141-148. pdf

  • Grüter, C., Leadbeater, E. & Ratnieks, F.L.W. 2010. Social learning: the importance of copying others. Current Biology 20, R683-R685. pdf

  • Grüter, C., Balbuena, M.S. & Farina, W.M. 2009. Retention of long-term memory in different age-groups of honeybee (Apis mellifera) workers. Insectes Sociaux 56, 385-387. pdf

  • Grüter, C. & Farina, W.M. 2009. Why do honeybee foragers follow the waggle dance? Trends in Ecology and Evolution 24, 584-585. pdf

  • Grüter, C. & Farina, W.M. 2009. Past experiences affect interaction patterns among foragers and hive bees. Ethology 115, 790-797. pdf

  • Grüter, C. & Farina, W.M. 2009. The honeybee waggle dance: can we follow the steps? Trends in Ecology and Evolution 24, 242-247. pdf

  • Farina, W.M. & Grüter, C. 2009. Trophallaxis: a mechanism of information transfer. In: Food Exploitation by Social Insects: An Ecological, Behavioral, and Theoretical Approach. Eds: Jarau, S. and Hrncir, M., Boca Raton, CRC press. pdf

  • Grüter, C., Arenas, A.*. & Farina, W.M. 2008. Does pollen function as a reward for honeybees in associative learning? Insectes Sociaux 55, 425-427. (*co-first author) pdf

  • Grüter, C. 2008. Social learning of food odours in honeybees: mechanisms and implications for collective foraging. PhD-thesis, University of Bern, Switzerland. Südwestdeutscher Verlag für Hochschulschriften, ISBN: 978-3-8381-0060-9. pdf

  • Grüter, C., Balbuena, M.S. & Farina, W.M. 2008. Informational conflicts created by the waggle dance. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 275, 1321-1327. pdf New York Times

  • Díaz, P.C., Grüter, C. & Farina, W.M. 2007. Floral scents affect the distribution of hive bees around dancers. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 61, 1589-1597. pdf

  • Grüter, C. & Farina. W.M. 2007. Nectar distribution and its relation to food quality in honeybee (Apis mellifera) colonies. Insectes Sociaux 54, 87-94. pdf

  • Farina, W.M., Grüter, C., Acosta, L.E. & Mc Cabe, S. 2007. Honeybees learn floral odors while receiving nectar from foragers within the hive. Naturwissenschaften 94, 55-60. pdf

  • Grüter, C., Acosta, L.E. & Farina, W.M. 2006. Propagation of olfactory information within the honeybee hive. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 60, 707-713. pdf

  • Farina, W.M, Grüter C.* & Diaz P.C. 2005. Social learning of floral odours inside the honeybee hive. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 272, 1923-1928. (*co-first author) pdf

  • Grüter, C. & Taborsky, B. 2005. Sex ratio and the sexual conflict about brood care in a biparental mouthbrooder. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 58: 44-52. pdf

  • Grüter, C. & Taborsky, B. 2004. Mouthbrooding and biparental care: an unexpected combination, but male brood care pays. Animal Behaviour, 68: 1283-1289. pdf

  • Grüter, C. 2003. Monogamy and biparental care in the cichlid fish, Eretmodus cyanostictus. MSc-thesis, University of Bern, Switzerland. pdf

Rejections

While we are proud of our publications, paper rejections are part of being a scientist. On average, the research papers (i.e. without review articles) in this publication list were rejected 1.0 times before they were published. One paper was rejected 6 times before it was published. The probability that a paper was rejected at least once was 47.5%. This probability did not decrease over time, suggesting no improvement in the ability to get papers accepted at the first attempt. Another way of looking at it is that my (C. G.) and my co-workers tendency to take risks when choosing journals has remained constant over the years. The journal responsible for most rejections (6) is Nature, which also shows our unwavering optimism...