TY - JOUR
T1 - Evaluating the Role of Drone-Produced Chemical Signals in Mediating Social Interactions in Honey Bees (Apis mellifera)
AU - Villar, Gabriel
AU - Wolfson, Megan D.
AU - Hefetz, Abraham
AU - Grozinger, Christina M.
N1 - Funding Information:
Acknowledgements We are grateful to Mario Padilla for expert beekeeping assistance, the Grozinger laboratory members for helpful comments, and to Dr. Margarita Orlova for her assistance with our chemical analysis. This work was supported by a USDA-NIFA Predoctoral Fellowship to G.V. (2015-67011-22802), a USDA-SARE student research grant awarded to G.V. (GNE14-090), an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellowship awarded to G.V., the United States-Israel Binational Science Foundation (grant # 2013104) to C.MG., A.H., N. Altman, and an Apes Valentes Undergraduate Research Award from the Center for Pollinator Research to M.D.W.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2017, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.
PY - 2018/1/1
Y1 - 2018/1/1
N2 - Pheromones play a critical role in shaping societies of social insects, including honey bees, Apis mellifera. While diverse functions have been ascribed to queen- and worker-produced compounds, few studies have explored the identity and function of male-produced (drone) compounds. However, several lines of evidence suggest that drones engage in a variety of social interactions inside and outside of the colony. Here we elucidate the chemical composition of extracts of the drone mandibular gland, and test the hypothesis that compounds produced in these glands, or a synthetic blend consisting of the six main compounds, mediate drone social interactions in and out of the colony. Drone mandibular glands primarily produce a blend of saturated, unsaturated and methyl branched fatty acids ranging in chain length from nonanoic to docosanoic acids, and both gland extracts and synthetic blends of these chemicals serve to attract drones outside of the hive, but do not attract workers inside the hive. These studies shed light on the role drones and drone-produced chemicals have on mediating social interactions with other drones and highlight their potential importance in communicating with other castes.
AB - Pheromones play a critical role in shaping societies of social insects, including honey bees, Apis mellifera. While diverse functions have been ascribed to queen- and worker-produced compounds, few studies have explored the identity and function of male-produced (drone) compounds. However, several lines of evidence suggest that drones engage in a variety of social interactions inside and outside of the colony. Here we elucidate the chemical composition of extracts of the drone mandibular gland, and test the hypothesis that compounds produced in these glands, or a synthetic blend consisting of the six main compounds, mediate drone social interactions in and out of the colony. Drone mandibular glands primarily produce a blend of saturated, unsaturated and methyl branched fatty acids ranging in chain length from nonanoic to docosanoic acids, and both gland extracts and synthetic blends of these chemicals serve to attract drones outside of the hive, but do not attract workers inside the hive. These studies shed light on the role drones and drone-produced chemicals have on mediating social interactions with other drones and highlight their potential importance in communicating with other castes.
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U2 - 10.1007/s10886-017-0912-2
DO - 10.1007/s10886-017-0912-2
M3 - Article
C2 - 29209933
AN - SCOPUS:85037641442
SN - 0098-0331
VL - 44
SP - 1
EP - 8
JO - Journal of Chemical Ecology
JF - Journal of Chemical Ecology
IS - 1
ER -