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Bee Pheromones |
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Pheromones are substances secreted by one individual which cause a specific response in other members of the same species. |
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Bees use pheromones for a number of different communication and behaviour-control purposes. One pheromone may cause many different responses, depending on environmental conditions and pheromone concentration. |
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Behavioural Pheromones |
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The pheromone produced by the Nassonoff gland, which opens onto the side of the abdomen, has many purposes, including attracting workers and queens. Conversely,
o-aminoacetophenone is a pheromone produced by virgin queens and released with faeces. In small groups, the pheromone repels and is used when a new queen feels threatened by the workers. |
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Marker Pheromones |
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Queen Mandibular Pheromone |
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QMP is only effective in suppressing ovary development in workers when all components are present. Young virgin queens cannot oxidise 9-ODA to 9-HDA, whereas mated queens and older virgin queens can perform this oxidation. QMP is distributed around the hive by food sharing, and as long as the queen substance circulates by this method, the workers know that the queen is present. If the queen is removed, QMP no longer circulates the hive, and the workers begin to feed royal jelly to larvae to produce a new queen. QMP also acts to keep the swarm together when the queen leaves the hive with the swarm. |
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Worker bee mandibular pheromone contains mainly 10-hydroxydec-(E)-2-enoic acid. |
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