Effects of honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) queen insemination volume on worker behavior and physiology
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- 作者：Elina L. Ni?o ; Osnat Malka ; Abraham Hefetz ; Peter Teal ; Jerry Hayes ; Christina M. Grozinger
- 关键词：Honey bee queen ; Pheromone ; Supersedure ; Retinue ; Insemination volume
- 刊名：Journal of Insect Physiology
- 出版年：2012
- 出版时间：August, 2012
- 年：2012
- 卷：58
- 期：8
- 页码：1082-1089
- 全文大小：319 K
文摘
Honey bee colonies consist of tens of thousands of workers and a single reproductive queen that produces a pheromone blend which maintains colony organization. Previous studies indicated that the insemination quantity and volume alter queen mandibular pheromone profiles. In our 11-month long field study we show that workers are more attracted to high-volume versus low-volume inseminated queens, however, there were no significant differences between treatments in the number of queen cells built by workers in preparation for supersedure. Workers exposed to low-volume inseminated queens initiated production of queen-like esters in their Dufour¡¯s glands, but there were no significant difference in the amount of methyl farnesoate and juvenile hormone in worker hemolymph. Lastly, queen overwintering survival was unexpectedly lower in high-volume inseminated queens. Our results suggest that the queen insemination volume could ultimately affect colony health and productivity.