Caste-specific cuticular lipids in the stingless bee Friesella schrottkyi

Lipides de la cuticule spécifiques d'une caste chez l'abeille sans aiguillon Friesella schrottkyi

Túlio M. Nunes , E. David Morgan , Falko P. Drijfhout , Ronaldo Zucchi

While a queen control pheromone complex that inhibits worker ovary development has been described for honey bees, no comparable control pheromones have been identified for their sister group, the stingless bees. The aim of the present work was to search for possible control pheromones in the stingless bee Friesella schrottkyi. No volatile substances were found in the heads of queens that might serve as queen control pheromones. On the other hand, distinct differences were found between the cuticular substances of queens and workers. The major hydrocarbons were different between the two castes, and while queens contained methyl-branched alkanes and no unsaturated hydrocarbons, workers contained alkenes and alkadienes but no methyl branched hydrocarbons. Colonies deprived of a queen produced laying workers. Differences were observed in the cuticular patterns of laying workers and workers from a queen controlled colony.

Mots clés: pheromone; queen control; laying workers; caste differences; hydrocarbons<br>---<br>phéromone; contrôle par la reine; ouvrière pondeuse; différence entre castes; hydrocarbones

Domaines: Zoologie des invertébrés; Biodiversité; Ecologie, Environnement; Science des productions animales

Túlio M. Nunes, E. David Morgan, Falko P. Drijfhout, Ronaldo Zucchi. Caste-specific cuticular lipids in the stingless bee Friesella schrottkyi. Apidologie, 2010, 41 (5), ⟨10.1051/apido/2010042⟩. ⟨hal-00892088⟩