Department of Biology, Acadia University, Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada.
J Chem Ecol. 1993 Apr;19(4):771-86. doi: 10.1007/BF00985008.
Species ofPsithyrus (Hymenoptera; Apidae) are obligate bumble bee social parasites. In this study, females ofP. vestalis andP. ashtoni were presented with pentane extracts prepared from different body parts of queens of their respective host species,Bombus terrestris andB. terricola. Parasites of both species were capable of distinguishing host bees from other bumble bee species using chemical cues contained within extracts. Among extracts of several body parts presented to parasites, the abdomen produced the greatest behavioral response, with Dufour's gland and terminal tergal segments eliciting the greatest response among abdominal regions. Extracts of these two body parts obtained fromB. terrestris queens shared a number of compounds, identified by GC-MS. Among the identified compounds are a number that have been reported to be of importance in bee sociochemistry.
Psithyrus 种（膜翅目；蜜蜂科）是强制性熊蜂社会寄生虫。在这项研究中，P. vestalis 和 P. ashtoni 的雌性个体被提供了从它们各自宿主物种，Bombus terrestris 和 B. terricola 的蜂王的不同身体部位制备的戊烷提取物。两种寄生虫都能够使用提取物中包含的化学线索来区分宿主蜜蜂和其他熊蜂物种。在所呈现给寄生虫的几种身体部位的提取物中，腹部产生了最大的行为反应，而 Dufour 腺和末端尾节在腹部区域引起了最大的反应。从 B. terrestris 蜂王获得的这两个身体部位的提取物共享许多由 GC-MS 鉴定的化合物。在鉴定出的化合物中，有一些据报道在蜜蜂社会化学中很重要。
