Cuticular Hydrocarbon Compounds in Worker Castes and Their Role in Nestmate Recognition in Apis cerana indica

Rahman, Seydur; Hajong, Sudhanya Ray; Gévar, Jérémy; Lenoir, Alain; Darrouzet, Éric

doi:10.1007/s10886-016-0700-4

Cited by 12 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…Data were collected and analysed using MSD Chemstation software (Agilent Technologies, Palo Alto CA, USA). Based on the literature (4,5), all compounds were identified by comparing their retention times and mass spectra to those of the synthetic standards.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Even behavioural polymorphism within a caste is regulated by CHCs, for example in Pogonomyrmex barbatus (20). Besides the Nasonov pheromone, CHCs are the major cuticular compounds in honeybee (25), functioned as colony discrimination signals (26–30) and even behavioural polymorphism signals (31). In waggle dance communication, the detection of CHCs can stimulate followers (32).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Death recognition by undertaker bees

Wen

2020

Preprint

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Dead conspecifics removal is important of being social to avoid pathogen 9 transmission, which resulted in the evolution of a specific caste of undertaking 10 workers in all hives bee species. However, it is mysterious that how the undertakers 11 distinguish death and life instantly. Through integrative studies of behavioural tests 12 and chemical analyses, a novel mechanism for dead conspecifics recognition is found 13 in the Asian bee Apis cerana cerana Fabricius. The bees detect quickly the death of 14 conspecifics based on decreased cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) emissions, caused by 15 the cooling of the dead bee. Specifically, with the decline of body temperature in 16 death, the CHC emission was reduced. Undertakers perceived the major CHCs. 17 Addition of synthetic CHCs, followed by heating, inhibited undertaking behaviour. 18 Among these CHCs, heptacosane and nonacosane are the major compounds in a 19 natural bee hive, providing a continuous signal associated with life. Via changing the 20 vapour pressure then the ratio of emitted compounds encoding the physiological 21 status of signal sender, insect chemical communication can be finely tuned by body 22 temperature. This straightforward death recognition mechanism requiring little cost 23 can be universal in animal living in social groups, especially in the social insects. 24Body temperature affected behaviour can response to increasing frequency of extreme 25 weathers in global climate change, which help explain the recent worldwide bee 26 health problem. 27 28 Keywords: life signal, cuticular hydrocarbon, insect body temperature, vapour 29 pressure, GC-EAD, social behaviour 30Recognition of death is an important behaviour of being social. In social groups, 2 detection of death and rapid removal of corpses is essential in order to defend the 3 colony against pathogen transmission (1-4). Humans use the cessation of heartbeats 4 and breathing or cooling body temperature to diagnose death. All these even require 5 complicated processing of information due to the development of resuscitation skills. 6However, what mechanisms are available to much more primitive organisms such as 7 insects to assess whether conspecifics are alive or dead? It has been a long time, that 8 carbonic acids derived from corpse decompose are responsible for the death 9 recognition of dead bodies in social insects (2, 5). But this leads to theoretical and 10 empirical conflicts. Theoretically, dead individuals, usually old or diseased workers, 11 are at the highest risk of carrying pathogens. Leaving dead bodies not removed till 12 decomposition increased the risk of pathogen transmission within the nest, which is 13 conflicted with the importance of corpse management in social behaviour. In 14 observations, specialized workers in eusocial species perform undertaking behaviour, 15 removing the dead bodies of workers speedily (3, 6-8). Usually, a dead bee can be 16 recognized within 30 min (7), before significant decomposition occurs with the 17 concomitant production of od...

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Death recognition by undertaker bees

Wen

2020

Preprint

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“…They include linear and branched, saturated and unsaturated hydrocarbons, with different numbers of carbon atoms ranging from 15 to 35 [24]. Some of these compounds function in nestmate recognition and social acceptance [25]. Pentadecane has been reported as a larval volatile [26].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Volatiles from Different Instars of Honeybee Worker Larvae and Their Food

Zhang

Hou

Dai

et al. 2019

Insects

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(E)-β-Ocimene was the only volatile chemical found to be emitted by whole, live worker larvae of Apis mellifera L. when sampling in the vapor phase. In addition to (E)-β-ocimene, there is evidence for the existence of other volatiles, but the changes in their composition and contents remain unknown during larval development, as are their differences from larvae to larval food. We investigated volatile components of worker larvae and larval food using solid phase dynamic extraction (SPDE) coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Nine compounds were identified with certainty and six tentatively, including terpenoids, aldehydes, hydrocarbons, an ester and a ketone. The contents of volatiles in the second-instar worker larvae differ greatly from those in larvae of other stages. This is mainly attributable to terpenoids, which resulted in the second-instar worker larvae having significantly higher amounts of overall volatiles. Larval food contained significantly higher amounts of aldehydes and hydrocarbons than the corresponding larvae from the fourth to fifth-instar. We discovered volatiles in worker larvae and their food that were never reported before; we also determined the content changes of these volatiles during larval development.

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“…Hydrocarbons have transpiration-reducing functions in arthropods, including linear and branched, saturated and unsaturated hydrocarbons, with different numbers of carbon atoms ranging from 15 to 35 [20]. Some of these compounds function in nestmate recognition and social acceptance [21]. Pentadecane has been reported as a larval volatile [22] and was also detected in nurse bees, coupled with heptadecane [23].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

GC-MS Investigation of Volatiles from Honeybee Worker Larvae and Larval Food at Different Instars

Zhang¹,

Hou²,

Y³

et al. 2019

Preprint

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(E)-β-ocimene was the only found volatile chemical emitted by whole, live worker larvae of Apis mellifera L. by sampling in the vapor phase. While in addition to (E)-β-ocimene, there is evidence for the existence of other volatiles; but the changes of their composition and contents remain unknown during larval development, as are their differences from larvae to larval food. This is the main purpose of the study. We investigated volatile components of worker larvae and larval food using solid phase dynamic extraction (SPDE) coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Nine compounds were identified with certainty and six tentatively, consisting of terpenoids, aldehydes, hydrocarbons, ester and ketone. The contents of volatiles of the second-instar worker larvae differ greatly from larvae of other stages mainly attributable to terpenoids, which made the second-instar worker larvae had significantly higher amounts of overall volatiles. Larval food contained significantly higher amounts of aldehydes and hydrocarbons than the corresponding larvae from the fourth to fifth-instar. We discovered volatiles in worker larvae and their food which were never reported before; we also mastered the change of these volatiles’ contents during larval development.

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Cuticular Hydrocarbon Compounds in Worker Castes and Their Role in Nestmate Recognition in Apis cerana indica

Cited by 12 publications

References 62 publications

Death recognition by undertaker bees

Death recognition by undertaker bees

Volatiles from Different Instars of Honeybee Worker Larvae and Their Food

GC-MS Investigation of Volatiles from Honeybee Worker Larvae and Larval Food at Different Instars

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