Hepburn H Randall, Radloff Sarah E, Duangphakdee Orawan, Phaincharoen Mananya
Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown 6140, South Africa.
Naturwissenschaften. 2009 Jun;96(6):719-23. doi: 10.1007/s00114-009-0517-x. Epub 2009 Mar 4.
Beeswaxes of honeybee species share some homologous neutral lipids; but species-specific differences remain. We analysed behavioural variation for wax choice in honeybees, calculated the Euclidean distances for different beeswaxes and assessed the relationship of Euclidean distances to wax choice. We tested the beeswaxes of Apis mellifera capensis, Apis florea, Apis cerana and Apis dorsata and the plant and mineral waxes Japan, candelilla, bayberry and ozokerite as sheets placed in colonies of A. m. capensis, A. florea and A. cerana. A. m. capensis accepted the four beeswaxes but removed Japan and bayberry wax and ignored candelilla and ozokerite. A. cerana colonies accepted the wax of A. cerana, A. florea and A. dorsata but rejected or ignored that of A. m. capensis, the plant and mineral waxes. A. florea colonies accepted A. cerana, A. dorsata and A. florea wax but rejected that of A. m. capensis. The Euclidean distances for the beeswaxes are consistent with currently prevailing phylogenies for Apis. Despite post-speciation chemical differences in the beeswaxes, they remain largely acceptable interspecifically while the plant and mineral waxes are not chemically close enough to beeswax for their acceptance.
蜜蜂种类的蜂蜡具有一些同源中性脂质，但种间差异依然存在。我们分析了蜜蜂对蜡选择的行为差异，计算了不同蜂蜡的欧几里得距离，并评估了欧几里得距离与蜡选择之间的关系。我们测试了海角蜜蜂（Apis mellifera capensis）、小蜜蜂（Apis florea）、中华蜜蜂（Apis cerana）和大蜜蜂（Apis dorsata）的蜂蜡，以及植物蜡和矿物蜡日本蜡、小烛树蜡、杨梅蜡和地蜡，将它们制成薄片放置在海角蜜蜂、小蜜蜂和中华蜜蜂的蜂群中。海角蜜蜂接受了这四种蜂蜡，但移除了日本蜡和杨梅蜡，忽略了小烛树蜡和地蜡。中华蜜蜂蜂群接受了中华蜜蜂、小蜜蜂和大蜜蜂的蜡，但拒绝或忽略了海角蜜蜂的蜡、植物蜡和矿物蜡。蜂蜡的欧几里得距离与目前普遍认可的蜜蜂系统发育关系一致。尽管蜂蜡在物种形成后存在化学差异，但它们在很大程度上仍能被种间接受，而植物蜡和矿物蜡在化学性质上与蜂蜡相差过大，无法被接受。
