Integrative Advances in Honey Bee Gut–Brain Interactions: From Microbiota Dynamics to Behavioral Regulation and Colony Health

Honey bees provide a tractable model for studying the gut–brain axis in social insects. Unlike mammalian systems, the gut–brain axis in honey bees is jointly shaped by a relatively simple yet functionally specialized microbiota, physiological traits determined by caste differentiation and division of labor, and social interactions within the colony. Accumulating evidence indicates that gut microbes can influence neural function in honey bees through metabolic, immune, and neuroendocrine pathways, thereby affecting cognition, social behavior, immune homeostasis, and other host traits, and ultimately influences colony performance. Conversely, changes in host physiological state and environmental exposures can also reshape the gut microbiota, forming a dynamic feedback circuit between gut status and brain function. Given the high sociality of honey bees, microbial transmission and behavioral interactions among individuals may further amplify gut–brain axis effects and influence overall health of the colony. This review summarizes the establishment and temporal dynamic of the honey bee gut microbiome, the information transfer mechanisms between gut microbes and the host nervous system, and the effects of these interactions on key behaviors (learning, memory, foraging) and colony performance. It also examines major perturbing agents—pesticides, antibiotics, and pathogens—and explores strategies for colony health maintenance from the perspective of the gut–brain axis. Finally, the potential of microbiome-targeted interventions for improving colony health is critically evaluated. This review proposes an integrative framework from microbial dynamics to behavioral regulation and colony health, serving as a reference to promote basic research on the honey bee gut–brain axis and its applied translation for sustainable colony health management. These findings may also provide heuristic value for the study of human gut–brain interactions, neurobehavioral disorders related to microbial dysbiosis, and the development of microbiome-targeted health intervention strategies.