Queen signals in a stingless bee: suppression of worker ovary activation and spatial distribution of active compounds

Queen signals in a stingless bee: suppression of worker ovary activation and spatial distribution of active compounds

In most species of social insect the queen signals her presence to her workers via pheromones. Worker responses to queen pheromones include retinue formation around the queen, inhibition of queen cell production and suppression of worker ovary activation. Here we show that the queen signal of the Br...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Scientific reports Vol. 4; no. 1; p. 7449
Main Authors: Nunes, Túlio M., Mateus, Sidnei, Favaris, Arodi P., Amaral, Mônica F. Z. J., von Zuben, Lucas G., Clososki, Giuliano C., Bento, José M. S., Oldroyd, Benjamin P., Silva, Ricardo, Zucchi, Ronaldo, Silva, Denise B., Lopes, Norberto P.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 12-12-2014
Nature Publishing Group
Subjects:
140/125
140/58
631/158/857
631/181/2469
631/92/604
Animal Communication
Animals
Bees
Bees - physiology
Cuticular hydrocarbons
Desorption
Female
Glands
Honey
Humanities and Social Sciences
Hydrocarbons
Insect Hormones - physiology
Ionization
Lasers
Mandible
multidisciplinary
Ovary - physiology
Pheromones
Science
Secretion
Social Behavior
Spatial distribution
Volatile hydrocarbons
Workers (insect caste)
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Summary:In most species of social insect the queen signals her presence to her workers via pheromones. Worker responses to queen pheromones include retinue formation around the queen, inhibition of queen cell production and suppression of worker ovary activation. Here we show that the queen signal of the Brazilian stingless bee Friesella schrottkyi is a mixture of cuticular hydrocarbons. Stingless bees are therefore similar to ants, wasps and bumble bees, but differ from honey bees in which the queen's signal mostly comprises volatile compounds originating from the mandibular glands. This shows that cuticular hydrocarbons have independently evolved as the queen's signal across multiple taxa and that the honey bees are exceptional. We also report the distribution of four active queen-signal compounds by Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) imaging. The results indicate a relationship between the behavior of workers towards the queen and the likely site of secretion of the queen's pheromones.
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ISSN:2045-2322
2045-2322
DOI:10.1038/srep07449