Department of Entomology, Center for Chemical Ecology, Huck Institute for Life Sciences, Chemical Ecology Laboratory 121-A, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
J Insect Physiol. 2012 Aug;58(8):1082-9. doi: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2012.04.015. Epub 2012 May 8.
Honey bee colonies consist of tens of thousands of workers and a single reproductive queen that produces a pheromone blend which maintains colony organization. Previous studies indicated that the insemination quantity and volume alter queen mandibular pheromone profiles. In our 11-month long field study we show that workers are more attracted to high-volume versus low-volume inseminated queens, however, there were no significant differences between treatments in the number of queen cells built by workers in preparation for supersedure. Workers exposed to low-volume inseminated queens initiated production of queen-like esters in their Dufour's glands, but there were no significant difference in the amount of methyl farnesoate and juvenile hormone in worker hemolymph. Lastly, queen overwintering survival was unexpectedly lower in high-volume inseminated queens. Our results suggest that the queen insemination volume could ultimately affect colony health and productivity.
蜜蜂群体由成千上万的工蜂和一只生殖蜂王组成，蜂王会产生一种信息素混合物来维持蜂群的组织。先前的研究表明，授精量和精液量会改变蜂王下颚腺信息素的特征。在我们为期 11 个月的野外研究中，我们发现工蜂更喜欢高精液量的蜂王，而不是低精液量的蜂王，然而，在为取代蜂王而建造的王台数量方面，处理组之间没有显著差异。接触低精液量授精蜂王的工蜂会在其杜氏腺中产生类似蜂王的酯，但工蜂血淋巴中的法尼醇和保幼激素含量没有显著差异。最后，高精液量授精蜂王的越冬存活率出人意料地更低。我们的研究结果表明，蜂王授精量最终可能会影响蜂群的健康和生产力。
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