Effect of Aliphatic Esters on Ovary Development of Queenless Bees (Apis mellifera L.)

摘要

In honeybee queenright colonies, ovary development in workers is inhibited by queen-produced phero-mones and by the presence of the brood. It seems that the presence of the unsealed brood provides an inhibitory signal stronger than the queen's pheromone. When administered orally with honey, the ethyl alcohol or acetone extracts prepared from unsealed honey bee brood show inhibitory effects on worker ovary development. More recent results show that a mixture of ten fatty acid esters (methyl and ethyl esters of palmitic, linoleic, linolenic, stearic, and oleic acids) present naturally on the larval cuticle induce a strong inhibitory effect on ovary development of caged bees in controlled conditions. This inhibition occurs by contact, diffusion, or ingestion of the blend. Based on this preliminary work, the aim of this paper was to determine which esters are involved in the inhibition of ovary development of caged bees and to test whether these compounds maintain their effect under natural conditions.