Virgin queen attraction toward males in honey bees
Abstract Although the honeybee is a crucial agricultural agent and a prominent scientific model organism, crucial aspects of its reproductive behaviour are still unknown. During the mating season, honeybee males, the drones, gather in congregations 10–40 m above ground. Converging evidence suggests...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2017-07-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-06241-9 |
| _version_ | 1819127265659715584 |
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| author | Florian Bastin Hanna Cholé Grégory Lafon Jean-Christophe Sandoz |
| author_facet | Florian Bastin Hanna Cholé Grégory Lafon Jean-Christophe Sandoz |
| author_sort | Florian Bastin |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Although the honeybee is a crucial agricultural agent and a prominent scientific model organism, crucial aspects of its reproductive behaviour are still unknown. During the mating season, honeybee males, the drones, gather in congregations 10–40 m above ground. Converging evidence suggests that drones emit a pheromone that can attract other drones, thereby increasing the size of the congregation. Virgin queens join the vicinity of the congregation after it has formed, and mate with as many as 20 males in mid-air. It is still unclear which sensory cues help virgin queens find drone congregations in the first place. Beside visual cues for long-range orientation, queens may use olfactory cues. We thus tested virgin queens’ olfactory orientation on a walking simulator in which they have full control over odour stimulation. We show that sexually-mature virgin queens are attracted to the odour bouquet from a group of living drones. They are not attracted to the bouquet from a group of workers. In addition, non-sexually receptive females (workers) of the same age are not attracted to the drone odour bouquet. Interpreted in the context of mating, these results may suggest that virgin queens use volatile olfactory cues from the drones to find the congregations. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-22T08:09:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a7481ef2691b432cb7bac023d5ae4345 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T08:09:11Z |
| publishDate | 2017-07-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-a7481ef2691b432cb7bac023d5ae43452022-12-21T18:33:03ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222017-07-017111110.1038/s41598-017-06241-9Virgin queen attraction toward males in honey beesFlorian Bastin0Hanna Cholé1Grégory Lafon2Jean-Christophe Sandoz3Evolution, Genomes, Behaviour and Ecology, CNRS (UMR 9191), Univ Paris-Sud, IRD, Université Paris-SaclayEvolution, Genomes, Behaviour and Ecology, CNRS (UMR 9191), Univ Paris-Sud, IRD, Université Paris-SaclayEvolution, Genomes, Behaviour and Ecology, CNRS (UMR 9191), Univ Paris-Sud, IRD, Université Paris-SaclayEvolution, Genomes, Behaviour and Ecology, CNRS (UMR 9191), Univ Paris-Sud, IRD, Université Paris-SaclayAbstract Although the honeybee is a crucial agricultural agent and a prominent scientific model organism, crucial aspects of its reproductive behaviour are still unknown. During the mating season, honeybee males, the drones, gather in congregations 10–40 m above ground. Converging evidence suggests that drones emit a pheromone that can attract other drones, thereby increasing the size of the congregation. Virgin queens join the vicinity of the congregation after it has formed, and mate with as many as 20 males in mid-air. It is still unclear which sensory cues help virgin queens find drone congregations in the first place. Beside visual cues for long-range orientation, queens may use olfactory cues. We thus tested virgin queens’ olfactory orientation on a walking simulator in which they have full control over odour stimulation. We show that sexually-mature virgin queens are attracted to the odour bouquet from a group of living drones. They are not attracted to the bouquet from a group of workers. In addition, non-sexually receptive females (workers) of the same age are not attracted to the drone odour bouquet. Interpreted in the context of mating, these results may suggest that virgin queens use volatile olfactory cues from the drones to find the congregations.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-06241-9 |
| spellingShingle | Florian Bastin Hanna Cholé Grégory Lafon Jean-Christophe Sandoz Virgin queen attraction toward males in honey bees Scientific Reports |
| title | Virgin queen attraction toward males in honey bees |
| title_full | Virgin queen attraction toward males in honey bees |
| title_fullStr | Virgin queen attraction toward males in honey bees |
| title_full_unstemmed | Virgin queen attraction toward males in honey bees |
| title_short | Virgin queen attraction toward males in honey bees |
| title_sort | virgin queen attraction toward males in honey bees |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-06241-9 |
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