CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650000, Yunnan, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
Academy of Animal Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
J Insect Physiol. 2021 May-Jun;131:104238. doi: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2021.104238. Epub 2021 Apr 8.
The ability to detect and remove dead adult bees is an essential part of honeybee colony fitness that prevents the spread of pathogens. Fatty acid olfactory cues stimulate undertaking behavior among different social species within Hymenoptera, but the chemicals responsible for the death cue in Apis cerana have not yet been identified. We explored the Nasonov gland as a potential source of these chemicals in A. cerana. Gas chromatography indicated that unlike A. mellifera, the A. cerana Nasonov gland does not contain any volatile terpenes, only fatty acids. As a bioassay, dead honeybees were rinsed free of their individual cuticular hydrocarbons via dichloromethane and two concentrations of oleic acid and a synthetic blend of the Nasonov pheromone in A. cerana were applied to the dummies. Results showed that oleic acid did not stimulate corpse removal in A. cerana. However, the synthetic pheromone blend of A. cerana Nasonov did stimulate removal.
检测和清除死亡成年蜜蜂的能力是蜜蜂群体适应能力的重要组成部分，可防止病原体传播。脂肪酸嗅觉线索刺激膜翅目不同社会物种的行为，但是尚未确定中华蜜蜂死亡线索的化学物质。我们探索了诺森腺作为这些化学物质的潜在来源。气相色谱表明，与西方蜜蜂不同，中华蜜蜂的诺森腺不含有任何挥发性萜烯，只有脂肪酸。作为生物测定，通过二氯甲烷冲洗掉死亡的蜜蜂个体的表皮碳氢化合物，并用两种浓度的油酸和中华蜜蜂诺森腺的合成信息素混合物处理假蜜蜂。结果表明，油酸不能刺激中华蜜蜂清除尸体。然而，中华蜜蜂诺森腺的合成信息素混合物确实刺激了清除行为。
