Abstract
The queen mandibular gland component (2E)-9-oxodecenoic acid (9-ODA) has been suggested to function as the major sex pheromone component in all honey bee species. In contrast to this hypothesis, chemical analyses showed that in the Asian dwarf honey bee species, Apis florea, a different decenoic acid, (2E)-10-hydroxydecenoic acid (10-HDA), is the major component in the mandibular gland secretion. We show here that A. florea drones are attracted to 9-ODA as well as to 10-HDA. However, 10-HDA attracted higher numbers of drones at lower dosages than 9-ODA, and also was more attractive when directly compared to 9-ODA in a dual attraction experiment. We conclude that 10-HDA has to be viewed as the major sex pheromone in A. florea. The result that both pheromone components are capable of attracting drones when presented alone was unexpected with regard to existing sex pheromone attraction experiments in honey bees.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
References
BROCKMANN, A., and BRUECKNER, D. 2001. Structural differences in the drone olfactory system of two phylogenetically distant Apis species, A. florea and A. mellifera. Naturwissenschaften 88:78–81.
BROCKMANN, A., and BRUECKNER, D. 2003. Drone antennae and the evolution of sex-pheromone communication in honeybees. Indian Bee J. 65:131–138.
BROCKMANN, A., BRUECKNER, D., and CREWE, R. M. 1998. The EAG response spectra of workers and drones to queen honey bee mandibular gland components: the evolution of a social signal. Naturwissenschaften 85:283–285.
BROCKMANN, A., DIETZ, D., SPAETHE J., and TAUTZ, J. 2006. Beyond 9-ODA: sex pheromone communication in the European honey bee Apis mellifera L. J. Chem. Ecol. 32:657–667.
KEELING, C. I, SLESSOR, K. N., KOENIGER N., KOENIGER, G., and PUNCHIHEWA, R. W. K., 2000. Quantitative analysis of the mandibular gland components of the dwarf honey bee (Apis florea Fabricius). Apidologie 31:293–299.
KOENIGER, N. and KOENIGER, G. 2000. Reproductive isolation among species of the genus Apis. Apidologie 31:313–339.
LINN, C. E., CAMPBELL, M. G., and ROELOFS, W. L. 1986. Male moth sensitivity to multicomponent pheromones: Critical role of female-released blend in determining the functional role of components and active space of the pheromone. J. Chem. Ecol. 12:659–668.
OLDROYD, B. P. and WONGSIRI, S. 2006. Asian Honey bees: Biology, Conservation and Human Interactions. Harvard University Press, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
PLETTNER, E., OTIS, G. W., WIMALARNTNE, P. D. C., WINSTON, M. L., SLESSOR, K. N., PANKIW, T., and PUNCHIHEWA, P. W. K. 1997. Species- and caste determined mandibular gland signals in honeybees (Apis). J. Chem. Ecol. 23:363–375.
SANNASI, A., RAJULU, G. S., and SUNDARA, G. 1971. 9-Oxodec-trans-2-enoic acid in the Indian honey bees. Life Sci. 10:195–201.
WANNER, K. W., NICHOLS, A. S., WALDEN, K. K., BROCKMANN, A., LUETJE, C. W., and ROBERTSON, H. M. 2007. A honey bee odorant receptor for the queen substance 9-oxo-2-decenoic acid. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci., USA 104:14383–14388.
Acknowledgements
We thank L. Hanks and N. Naeger of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; C. Alaux of INRA Avignon, France; and D. Brueckner of the University of Bremen, Germany, for valuable comments on an earlier version of the manuscript.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Nagaraja, N., Brockmann, A. Drones of the Dwarf Honey Bee Apis Florea Are Attracted to (2E)-9-Oxodecenoic Acid and (2E)-10-Hydroxydecenoic Acid. J Chem Ecol 35, 653–655 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-009-9648-y
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-009-9648-y