Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-j824f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-05T03:26:33.774Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

EFFECT OF QUEEN MANDIBULAR PHEROMONE ON INITIATION AND MAINTENANCE OF QUEEN CELLS IN THE HONEY BEE (APIS MELLIFERA L.)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 May 2012

A.P. Melathopoulos ,
M.L. Winston ,
J.S. Pettis  and
T. Pankiw
A.P. Melathopoulos
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada V5A 1S6
M.L. Winston
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada V5A 1S6
J.S. Pettis
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada V5A 1S6
T. Pankiw
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada V5A 1S6
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Adding queen mandibular pheromone into honey bee colonies earlier than 24 h after queen loss resulted in an inhibition of queen-rearing, but not when added after 4 days. The number of queen cells initiated in each treatment decreased with the addition of the pheromone, although there were no effects on the number of queen cells torn down following pheromone treatment. The effect of adding the pheromone to queenless colonies given newly hatched female larvae under different regimens of queen cell provisioning and cell structure also was investigated. Only colonies in which larvae were presented in unmodified worker comb exhibited significantly lower rates of queen-rearing. Results indicate that queen mandibular pheromone inhibits the initiation of queen-rearing but not the maintenance of established cells.

Résumé

Nous avons étudié qu’avait l’addition d’une phéromone synthétique de la glande mandibulaire de reine d’abeille sur des colonies privées de reines pour des durées variables. La phéromone inhibait la production des cellules royales si on l’introduisait dans la colonie moins d’un jour après la perte de sa reine, mais pas après 4 jours d’orphelinage. Le nombre de cellules royales initiées après chaque traitement était diminué par l’addition de la phéromone, mais il n’y avait aucun effet sur le nombre de cellules royales détruites après l’addition de la phéromone. Nous avons aussi étudié l’effet qu’avait l’addition de la phéromone à des colonies orphelines auxquelles on fournissait des larves femelles nous-nées sous différentes conditions d’approvisionnement des cellules royales et de stucture de cellules. Les colonies dans lesquelles les larves étaient placées dans des alvéoles non modifiées d’ouvrières étaient les seules dont les taux de production de cellules royales étaient réduits de façon significative. Ces résultats démontrent que la phéromone de la glande mandibulaire de reine inhibe l’initiation de la production des cellules royales, mais non l’entretien des cellules royales déjà établies.

Type
Articles
Information
The Canadian Entomologist , Volume 128 , Issue 2 , April 1996 , pp. 263 - 272
Copyright
Copyright © Entomological Society of Canada 1996

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Butler, C.G. 1961. The scent of queen honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) that cause partial inhibition of queen rearing. Journal of Insect Physiology 7: 258–264.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fell, R.D. 1978. Queen cell production and control in the honey bee colony. Journal of the New York Entomological Society 86: 286–287.Google Scholar
Fell, R.D., and Morse, R.A.. 1984. Emergency queen cell production in the honey bee colony. Insectes Sociaux 31: 221–237.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fletcher, D.J.C., and Ross, K.G.. 1985. Regulation of reproduction in eusocial Hymenoptera. Annual Review of Entomology 30: 319–343.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ikan, R., Gottlieb, R., Bergmann, E.D., and Ishay, J.. 1969. The pheromone of the queen of the Oriental hornet Vespa orientalis. Journal of Insect Physiology 15: 1709–1712.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Koeniger, K. 1984. Brood care and recognition of pupae in the honey bee (Apis mellifera) and the hornet (Vespa crabro). pp. 267–282 in Lewis, T. (Ed.), Insect Communication. Academic Press, London. 414 pp.Google Scholar
Laidlaw, H. 1979. Contemporary Queen Rearing. Dadant & Sons Inc., Carthage, IL. 197 pp.Google Scholar
Naumann, K., Winston, M.L., Slessor, K.N., Prestwich, G.D., and Webster, F.X.. 1991. The production and transmission of honey bee queen (Apis mellifera L.) mandibular gland pheromone. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 29: 321–332.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pettis, J.S., Winston, M.L., and Collins, A.M.. 1995. Supression of queen rearing in European and Africanized honey bees by synthetic queen mandibular gland pheromone. Insectes Sociaux 42: 1–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Robinson, G., Page, R.E., and Fondrk, M.K.. 1989. Intracolonial behavioral variation in worker oviposition, oophagy, and larval care in queenless honey bee colonies. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 37: 637–665.Google Scholar
Slessor, K.N., Kaminski, L.-A., King, G.G.S., and Winston, M.L.. 1990. Semiochemicals of the honey bee queen mandibular glands. Journal of Chemical Ecology 332: 354–356.Google Scholar
Sokal, R.R., and Rohlf, F.J.R.. 1969. Biometry. W.H. Freeman and Co., San Francisco, CA. 776 pp.Google Scholar
Vargo, E.L., and Fletcher, D.J.C.. 1986. Evidence of pheromonal queen control over the production of male and female sexuals in the fire ant, Solenopsis invicta. Journal of Comparative Physiology A 159: 741–749.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vargo, E.L., and Passer, A.L.. 1990. Pheromonal and behavioral control over the production of gynes in the Argentine ant Iridomyrmex humilis (Mayr). Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 28: 161–169.Google Scholar
Weaver, N. 1957. Effects of larval age on dimorphic differentiation of female honey bee. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 11: 79–102.Google Scholar
Winston, M.L. 1979. Events following queen removal in colonies of Africanized honey bees in South America. Insectes Sociaux 26: 373–381.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Winston, M.L. 1987. The Biology of the Honey Bee. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA. 261 pp.Google Scholar
Winston, M.L., Higo, H.A., Colley, S.J., Pankiw, T., and Slessor, K.N.. 1991. The role of queen mandibular pheromone and colony congestion in honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) reproductive swarming. Journal of Insect Behavior 4: 649–659.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Winston, M.L., Higo, H.A., and Slessor, K.N.. 1990. Effect of various doseages of queen mandibular gland pheromone on the inhibition of queen rearing in the honey bee (Hymenoptera:Apidae). Annals of the Entomological Society of America 83: 234–238.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Winston, M.L., and Slessor, K.N.. 1993. Applications of honey bee queen mandibular pheromone for beekeeping and crop pollination. Bee World 80: 374–385.Google Scholar
Winston, M.L., Slessor, K.N., Willis, L.G., Naumann, K., Higo, H.A., Wybom, M.H., and Kaminski, L.-A.. 1989. The influence of queen mandibular pheromone on worker attraction to swarm clusters and inhibition of queen rearing in the honey bee (Apis mellifera L.). Insectes Sociaux 36: 15–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar