Africanized and European honey bee worker ovarian follicle development response to racial brood pheromone extracts

Abstract

-Africanized and European worker honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) ovary follicle development response to Africanized and European larval extracts and synthetic brood pheromone were measured and modeled. Africanized workers had significantly greater baseline development than European workers. Racial extracts did not differentially affect Africanized or European follicle development. Africanized EC 50 of brood pheromone for follicle development inhibition was 16 times greater than for European workers. The higher worker reproductive ability of Africanized workers appeared intrinsic and was not explained by the racial blend of pheromone or composition of the adult rearing environment. Higher colony-level reproduction apparently extends to the individual-level in Africanized bees.Apis mellifera / brood pheromone / Africanized honey bee / ovary development

Multifunctional Queen Pheromone and Maintenance of Reproductive Harmony in Termite Colonies

“…In the honeybee Apis mellifera, old larvae provide the primary signals that prevent ovary activation in workers (Trouiller et al, 1991;Arnold et al, 1994;Mohammedi et al, 1998;Oldroyd et al, 2001;Pankiw and Garza, 2007;Maisonnasse et al, 2010), and in the ant Pachycondyla apicalis, larvae affect worker reproduction in queenless groups (Heinze et al, 1996). In the ant Myrmica rubra, queen-laid eggs inhibit worker ovary development (Brian and Rigby, 1978).…”

A scientific note on E-β-ocimene, a new volatile primer pheromone that inhibits worker ovary development in honey bees

“…Components of the brood pheromone have already been identified and consist of a blend of 10 esters (Le Conte et al, 1989, 1990. Two of these low volatility compounds have been demonstrated to partially decrease worker ovary development (Mohammedi et al, 1998;Pankiw and Garza, 2007). Thus, we asked whether brood emits volatile compounds that could also have an effect on worker ovary activation.…”

E-β-Ocimene, a Volatile Brood Pheromone Involved in Social Regulation in the Honey Bee Colony (Apis mellifera)

“…One pheromone named brood ester pheromone (BEP), is composed of a blend of 10 methyl and ethyl esters [7] . This pheromone, modulates the feeding and pollen foraging behaviour of workers [8] , [9] , [10] , inhibits the activation of the worker ovary [11] , [12] , [13] , induces workers to cap brood cells [7] and increases the rate of protein production in the hypopharyngeal glands of workers [14] , [15] . In addition, BEP modulates the behavioural maturation of honey bee workers [16] , then inducing workers to take care of the brood rather than allocating energy to outside activities.…”