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Background: Immune response pathways have been relatively well-conserved across animal species, with similar systems in both mammals and invertebrates. Interestingly, honey bees have substantially reduced numbers of genes associated with immune function compared with solitary insect species. However, social species such as honey bees provide an excellent environment for pathogen or parasite transmission with controlled environmental conditions in the hive, high population densities, and frequent interactions. This suggests that honey bees may have developed complementary mechanisms, such as behavioral modifications, to deal with disease. Results:Here, we demonstrate that activation of the immune system in honey bees (using bacterial lipopolysaccharides as a non-replicative pathogen) alters the social responses of healthy nestmates toward the treated individuals. Furthermore, treated individuals expressed significant differences in overall cuticular hydrocarbon profiles compared with controls. Finally, coating healthy individuals with extracts containing cuticular hydrocarbons of immunostimulated individuals significantly increased the agonistic responses of nestmates. Conclusion:Since cuticular hydrocarbons play a critical role in nestmate recognition and other social interactions in a wide variety of insect species, modulation of such chemical profiles by the activation of the immune system could play a crucial role in the social regulation of pathogen dissemination within the colony.

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The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of some cellulose polymers mixed in a semipermanent dyestuff on the dye uptake of yak hair fiber and color fading after repeated washing cycles. Two different classes of commercial polymers were tested: non-ionic and cationic. Formulations based on a mixture of HC and basic dyes, with different molecular sizes, were employed as representative dyestuffs. UV-Vis spectroscopy and colorimetric measurements were used to analyze the extracted dyes from the yak hair cuticle and cortex. The results obtained indicate that the presence of cationic polymers in the dye bath improves both the quality of the dyeing process and the antifading effect during the first washing cycles.