New insights into honey bee (Apis mellifera) pheromone communication. Is the queen mandibular pheromone alone in colony regulation?

Abstract

BackgroundIn social insects, the queen is essential to the functioning and homeostasis of the colony. This influence has been demonstrated to be mediated through pheromone communication. However, the only social insect for which any queen pheromone has been identified is the honey bee (Apis mellifera) with its well-known queen mandibular pheromone (QMP). Although pleiotropic effects on colony regulation are accredited to the QMP, this pheromone does not trigger the full behavioral and physiological response observed in the presence of the queen, suggesting the presence of additional compounds. We tested the hypothesis of a pheromone redundancy in honey bee queens by comparing the influence of queens with and without mandibular glands on worker behavior and physiology.ResultsDemandibulated queens had no detectable (E)-9-oxodec-2-enoic acid (9-ODA), the major compound in QMP, yet they controlled worker behavior (cell construction and queen retinue) and physiology (ovary inhibition) as efficiently as intact queens.ConclusionsWe demonstrated that the queen uses other pheromones as powerful as QMP to control the colony. It follows that queens appear to have multiple active compounds with similar functions in the colony (pheromone redundancy). Our findings support two hypotheses in the biology of social insects: (1) that multiple semiochemicals with synonymous meaning exist in the honey bee, (2) that this extensive semiochemical vocabulary exists because it confers an evolutionary advantage to the colony.

Pathological effects of the microsporidium Nosema ceranae on honey bee queen physiology (Apis mellifera)

“…The analysis of queen pheromone components (9-ODA, HOB, HVA, 9-HDA) was performed following the same procedure published by Maisonnasse et al (2010). Briefly, queen heads were stored at -20°C before chemical analysis of the QMP components.…”

Farklı Mevsimlerde Yetiştirilen Kafkas (Apis mellifera caucasica), İtalyan (Apis mellifera ligustica) ırkı ve Anadolu arısı Ege Ekotipi (Apis mellifera ataloliaca) Ana Arıların Bazı Feromon Miktarlarının Belirlenmesi

“…[32]'nın 15 günlük yaştaki çiftleşmemiş ana arılarda belirlediği değerden (150±34 µg) düşüktür. Bu çalışmada HOB ve HVA değerleri yine Pankiw ve ark., [13]'nın yaşı belirtilmeyen yumurtlayan bir ana arı için belirlediği (HOB için 20 µg ve HVA için 2 µg) değerden daha düşüktür.…”

“…Bu çalışma ile Türkiye arıcılığında önemli yeri olan Kafkas ırkı (Apis mellifera anatoliaca), Anadolu arısı Ege ekotipi (Apis mellifera anatoliaca) ve İtalyan ırkı (Apis mellifera ligustica) ana arılar, üç farklı dönemde (NisanHaziran-Eylül) yetiştirilerek mandibular feromon (9 ODA, 9 HDA, HOB ve HVA) miktarları belirlenmiştir. [32]. Verilerin istatistik olarak değerlendirilmesinde SAS paket programı kullanılmıştır.…”

Differential antennal proteome comparison of adult honeybee drone, worker and queen (Apis mellifera L.)

“…5, 6). Likewise, among the 21 proteins strongly up-regulated in the worker antennae (21,19.6%), 10 were involved in carbohydrate metabolism and energy production (spots W1, W6, W8, W10-W15 and W17), six in antioxidation (spots W3-W5, W19-W21), two in molecular transporter (spots W7, W18), two in development (spots W2, W16) and one in fatty acid metabolism (spot W9) ( Table 1, Figs.5, 6).…”