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The
pheromone A pheromone () is a secreted or excreted chemical factor that triggers a social response in members of the same species. Pheromones are chemicals capable of acting like hormones outside the body of the secreting individual, to affect the behavio ...
s of the
honey bee A honey bee (also spelled honeybee) is a eusocial flying insect within the genus ''Apis'' of the bee clade, all native to Afro-Eurasia. After bees spread naturally throughout Africa and Eurasia, humans became responsible for the current co ...
are mixtures of chemical substances released by individual bees into the hive or environment that cause changes in the physiology and behaviour of other bees.


Introduction

Honey bees (''
Apis mellifera The western honey bee or European honey bee (''Apis mellifera'') is the most common of the 7–12 species of honey bees worldwide. The genus name ''Apis'' is Latin for "bee", and ''mellifera'' is the Latin for "honey-bearing" or "honey carrying", ...
'') have one of the most complex pheromonal communication systems found in nature, possessing 15 known glands that produce an array of compounds.Free, John B., ''Pheromones of social bees.'' Ithaca, N.Y.: Comstock, 1987.Blum, M.S. 1992. Honey bee pheromones in The Hive and the Honey Bee, revised edition (Dadant and Sons: Hamilton, Illinois), pages 385–389. These chemical messengers secreted by a
queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
,
drone Drone most commonly refers to: * Drone (bee), a male bee, from an unfertilized egg * Unmanned aerial vehicle * Unmanned surface vehicle, watercraft * Unmanned underwater vehicle or underwater drone Drone, drones or The Drones may also refer to: ...
,
worker bee A worker bee is any female (eusocial) bee that lacks the full reproductive capacity of the colony's queen bee; under most circumstances, this is correlated to an increase in certain non-reproductive activities relative to a queen. While worker be ...
or laying worker bee to elicit a response in other bees. The chemical messages are received by the bee's antenna and other body parts. They are produced as a volatile or non-volatile liquid and transmitted by direct contact as a liquid or vapor. Honey bee pheromones can be grouped into releaser pheromones which temporarily affect the recipient's behavior, and primer pheromones which have a long-term effect on the physiology of the recipient. Releaser pheromones trigger an almost immediate behavioral response from the receiving bee. Under certain conditions a pheromone can act as both a releaser and primer pheromone. The pheromones may either be single chemicals or a complex mixture of numerous chemicals in different percentages.


Types of honey bee pheromones


Alarm pheromone

Two main alarm pheromones have been identified in honeybee workers. One is released by the
Koschevnikov gland The Koschevnikov gland is a gland of the honeybee located near the sting shaft. The gland produces an alarm pheromone that is released when a bee stings. The pheromone contains more than 40 different compounds, including pentylacetate, butyl ...
, near the sting shaft, and consists of more than 40 chemical compounds, including
isopentyl acetate Isoamyl acetate, also known as isopentyl acetate, is an organic compound that is the ester formed from isoamyl alcohol and acetic acid, with the molecular formula C7H14O2.It is a colorless liquid that is only slightly soluble in water, but very ...
(IPA),
butyl acetate ''n''-Butyl acetate is an organic compound with the formula . A colorless, flammable liquid, it is the ester derived from n-butanol and acetic acid. It is found in many types of fruit, where it imparts characteristic flavors and has a sweet sme ...
, 1-hexanol, ''n''-butanol, 1-octanol, hexyl acetate,
octyl acetate Octyl acetate, or octyl ethanoate, is an organic compound with the formula CH3(CH2)7O2CCH3. It is classified as an ester that is formed from 1-octanol (octyl alcohol) and acetic acid. It is found in oranges, grapefruits, and other citrus produc ...
, ''n''-pentyl acetate and 2-nonanol. These chemical compounds have low molecular weights, are highly volatile, and appear to be the least specific of all pheromones. Alarm pheromones are released when a bee stings another animal, and attract other bees to the location and causes the other bees to behave defensively, i.e. sting or charge. The alarm pheromone emitted when a bee stings another animal smells like bananas. Smoke can mask the bees' alarm pheromone. The other alarm pheromone is released by the mandibular glands and consists of 2-heptanone, which is also a highly volatile substance. This compound has a repellent effect and it was proposed that it is used to deter potential enemies and robber bees. The amounts of 2-heptanone increase with the age of bees and becomes higher in the case of foragers. It was therefore suggested that 2-heptanone is used by foragers to scent-mark recently visited and depleted foraging locations, which indeed are avoided by foraging bees. However, this has recently been proven false. In a new discovery, it was determined that bees actually use 2-heptanone as an anesthetic and to paralyze intruders. After the intruders are paralyzed, the bees remove them from the hive.


Brood recognition pheromone

Another pheromone is responsible for preventing
worker bees The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colo ...
from bearing offspring in a colony that still has developing young. Both larvae and pupae emit a "brood recognition" pheromone. This inhibits ovarian development in worker bees and helps nurse bees distinguish worker larvae from drone larvae and pupae. This pheromone is a ten-component blend of fatty-acid esters, which also modulates adult caste ratios and foraging ontogeny dependent on its concentration. The components of brood pheromone have been shown to vary with the age of the developing bee. An artificial brood pheromone was invented by Yves Le Conte, Leam Sreng, Jérome Trouiller, and Serge Henri Poitou and patented in 1996.


Drone pheromone

Drone Mandibular Pheromone attracts other flying drones to suitable sites for mating with virgin queens.


Dufour's gland pheromone

The
Dufour's gland Dufour's gland is an abdominal gland of certain insects, part of the anatomy of the ovipositor or sting apparatus in female members of Apocrita. The diversification of Hymenoptera took place in the Cretaceous and the gland may have developed at a ...
(named after the French naturalist Léon Jean Marie Dufour) opens into the dorsal vaginal wall. Dufour’s gland and its secretion have been somewhat of a mystery. The gland secretes its alkaline products into the vaginal cavity, and it has been assumed to be deposited on the eggs as they are laid. Indeed, Dufour’s secretions allow worker bees to distinguish between eggs laid by the queen, which are attractive, and those laid by workers. The complex of as many as 24 chemicals differs between workers in "queenright" colonies and workers of queenless colonies. In the latter, the workers’ Dufour secretions are similar to those of a healthy queen. The secretions of workers in queenright colonies are long-chain alkanes with odd numbers of carbon atoms, but those of egg-laying queens and egg-laying workers of queenless colonies also include long chain esters.


Egg marking pheromone

This pheromone, similar to that described above, helps nurse bees distinguish between eggs laid by the queen bee and eggs laid by a laying worker.


Footprint pheromone

This pheromone is left by bees when they walk and is useful in enhancing Nasonov pheromones in searching for nectar. In the queen, it is an oily secretion of the queen's
tarsal gland Meibomian glands (also called tarsal glands, palpebral glands, and tarsoconjunctival glands) are sebaceous glands along the rims of the eyelid inside the tarsal plate. They produce meibum, an oily substance that prevents evaporation of the eye' ...
s that is deposited on the comb as she walks across it. This inhibits queen cell construction (thereby inhibiting swarming), and its production diminishes as the queen ages.


Forager pheromone

Ethyl oleate Ethyl oleate is a fatty acid ester formed by the condensation of oleic acid and ethanol. It is a colorless oil although degraded samples can appear yellow. Use and occurrence Additive Ethyl oleate is used by compounding pharmacies as a vehicle ...
is released by older forager bees to slow the maturing of nurse bees. This primer pheromone acts as a distributed regulator to keep the ratio of nurse bees to forager bees in the balance that is most beneficial to the hive.


Nasonov pheromone

Nasonov pheromone The Nasonov (alternatively, Nasanov) pheromone is released by worker bees to orient returning forager bees back to the colony. To broadcast this scent, bees raise their abdomens, which contain the Nasonov glands, and fan their wings vigorousl ...
is emitted by the
worker bee A worker bee is any female (eusocial) bee that lacks the full reproductive capacity of the colony's queen bee; under most circumstances, this is correlated to an increase in certain non-reproductive activities relative to a queen. While worker be ...
s and used for orientation and recruitment. Nasonov pheromone includes a number of terpenoids including
geraniol Geraniol is a monoterpenoid and an alcohol. It is the primary component of citronella oil and is a primary component of rose oil, palmarosa oil. It is a colorless oil, although commercial samples can appear yellow. It has low solubility in water ...
,
nerolic acid Nerolic acid, also known as (''Z'')-3,7-Dimethyl-2,6-octadienoic acid, is an organically-derived chemical. In nature Nerolic acid is found in the Nasonov scent gland of honey-bees along with geraniol, geranic acid, citral, farnesol, and nerol ...
,
citral Citral is an acyclic monoterpene aldehyde, and being a monoterpene, it is made of two isoprene units. Citral is a collective term which covers two geometric isomers that have their own separate names; the ''E''-isomer is named geranial (''trans ...
and
geranic acid Geranic acid, or 3,7-dimethyl-2,6-octadienoic acid, is a pheromone A pheromone () is a secreted or excreted chemical factor that triggers a social response in members of the same species. Pheromones are chemicals capable of acting like hormo ...
.


Other pheromones

Other pheromones produced by most honey bees include rectal gland pheromone, tarsal pheromone, wax gland and comb pheromone, and
tergite A ''tergum'' (Latin for "the back"; plural ''terga'', associated adjective tergal) is the dorsal ('upper') portion of an arthropod segment other than the head. The anterior edge is called the 'base' and posterior edge is called the 'apex' or 'mar ...
gland pheromone.


Types of queen honey bee pheromones


Queen mandibular pheromone

Queen mandibular pheromone Queen mandibular pheromone, or QMP, is a honey bee pheromone produced by the queen and fed to her attendants who share it with the rest of the colony that gives the colony the sense of belonging to the queen. Newly emerged queens produce very little ...
(QMP), emitted by the queen, is one of the most important sets of pheromones in the bee hive. It affects social behavior, maintenance of the hive,
swarming Swarm behaviour, or swarming, is a collective behaviour exhibited by entities, particularly animals, of similar size which aggregate together, perhaps milling about the same spot or perhaps moving ''en masse'' or migrating in some direction. ...
, mating behavior, and inhibition of
ovary The ovary is an organ in the female reproductive system that produces an ovum. When released, this travels down the fallopian tube into the uterus, where it may become fertilized by a sperm. There is an ovary () found on each side of the body. ...
development in
worker bee A worker bee is any female (eusocial) bee that lacks the full reproductive capacity of the colony's queen bee; under most circumstances, this is correlated to an increase in certain non-reproductive activities relative to a queen. While worker be ...
s. The effects can be short and/or long term. Some of the chemicals found in QMP are
carboxylic acid In organic chemistry, a carboxylic acid is an organic acid that contains a carboxyl group () attached to an R-group. The general formula of a carboxylic acid is or , with R referring to the alkyl, alkenyl, aryl, or other group. Carboxylic ...
s and
aromatic compound Aromatic compounds, also known as "mono- and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons", are organic compounds containing one or more aromatic rings. The parent member of aromatic compounds is benzene. The word "aromatic" originates from the past grouping ...
s. The following compounds have been shown to be important in retinue attraction of workers to their queen and other effects.
(''E'')-9-Oxodec-2-enoic acid
(9-ODA) – inhibits queen rearing as well as ovarian development in worker bees; strong sexual attractant for drones when on a nuptial flight; critical to worker recognition of the presence of a queen in the hive

(9-HDA) promotes stability of a swarm, or a "calming" influence *(''S'',''E'')-(+)-9-HDA *
Methylparaben Methylparaben, also methyl paraben, one of the parabens, is a preservative with the chemical formula CH3(C6H4(OH)COO). It is the methyl ester of ''p''-hydroxybenzoic acid. Natural occurrences Methylparaben serves as a pheromone for a variety ...
(HOB) * 4-Hydroxy-3-methoxy phenylethanol (HVA) Work on synthetic pheromones was done by Keith N. Slessor, Lori-ann Kaminski, Gaylord G. S. King, John H. Borden, and Mark L. Winston; their work was patented in 1991. Synthetic queen mandibular pheromone (QMP) is a mixture of five components: 9-ODA, (−)-9-HDA, (+)-9-HDA, HOB and HVA in a ratio of 118:50:22:10:1.


Queen retinue pheromone

The following compounds have also been identified, of which only
coniferyl alcohol Coniferyl alcohol is an organic compound with the formula HO(CH3O)C6H3CH=CHCH2OH. A colourless or white solid, it is one of the monolignols, produced via the phenylpropanoid biochemical pathway. When copolymerized with related aromatic compounds, ...
is found in the mandibular glands. The combination of the 5 QMP compounds and the 4 compounds below is called the
queen retinue pheromone Queen retinue pheromones (QRP) are a type of honey bee pheromones, so-called because one of their behavioral effects is to attract a circle of bees (a “retinue”) around the queen. In older literature, the queen pheromone is called ''mandibular ...
(QRP). These nine compounds are important for the retinue attraction of worker bees around their queen. *
Methyl oleate In organic chemistry, a methyl group is an alkyl derived from methane, containing one carbon atom bonded to three hydrogen atoms, having chemical formula . In formulas, the group is often abbreviated as Me. This hydrocarbon group occurs in many ...
*
Coniferyl alcohol Coniferyl alcohol is an organic compound with the formula HO(CH3O)C6H3CH=CHCH2OH. A colourless or white solid, it is one of the monolignols, produced via the phenylpropanoid biochemical pathway. When copolymerized with related aromatic compounds, ...
*
Cetyl alcohol Cetyl alcohol , also known as hexadecan-1-ol and palmityl alcohol, is a C-16 fatty alcohol with the formula CH3(CH2)15OH. At room temperature, cetyl alcohol takes the form of a waxy white solid or flakes. The name cetyl derives from the whale oi ...
*
α-Linolenic acid ''alpha''-Linolenic acid (ALA), also known as α-Linolenic acid (from Greek ''alpha'' meaning "first" and ''linon'' meaning flax), is an ''n''−3, or omega-3, essential fatty acid. ALA is found in many seeds and oils, including flaxseed, waln ...


Other

The queen also contains an abundance of various methyl and ethyl fatty acid esters, very similar to the brood recognition pheromone described above. They are likely to have pheromonal functions like those found for the brood recognition pheromone.


References listed alphabetically by author

*Imrie, Georg
Georg Imrie's, Pink Pages
Nov. 1999 * *Blum, M.S. 1992. Honey bee pheromones in The Hive and the Honey Bee, revised edition (Dadant and Sons: Hamilton, Illinois), pages 385–389. * *Butler, C. 1609. The Feminine Monarchie. On a Treatise Concerning Bees, and the Due Ordering of them. Joseph Barnes:
Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
. *Free, John B., Pheromones of social bees. Ithaca, N.Y.: Comstock, 1987. *Imrie, Georg
George Imrie's Pink Pages November 1999
accessed Feb. 2005 * * * * * *Vander Meer, R.K. et al. 1998. Pheromone Communication in Social Insects; Boulder: Westview Press *


Notes

{{reflist, 2 Beekeeping Bee ecology Insect pheromones