Queens, insect

Abamectin is also used to control the imported red fine ant Soknopsis invicta. For this use abamectin is formulated as a bait together with soybean oil and com grits. Worker ants transport the bait to the colony, the queen becomes sterile, and the colony is eliminated after 12 to 21 weeks. Similar effects on the fecundity of other female insects at nonlethal doses have been reported (16,17). 

The repertoire of chemicals that can be used for communication is limited by the biosynthetic ability of the insect. Compared to other insect orders, pheromone biosynthesis in Hymenoptera has received little study [191]. However, the biosynthetic origins of chemically diverse hymenopteran semiochemicals likely include aromatic, fatty acid, and terpenoid pathways as well as simple modifications of host-derived precursors. Notable recent studies include the biosynthesis of the fatty acid components (2 )-9-oxodec-2-enoic acid 52 and (2 )-9-hydroxydec-2-enoic acid of the honeybee queen mandibular pheromone from octadecanoic acid [192,193], and the aliphatic alcohol and ester... 

Slessor KN,Foster LJ,Winston ML (1998) Royal flavours honeybee queen pheromones. In Vander Meer RK, Breed MD, Espelie KE, Winston ML (eds) Pheromone communication in social insects ants, wasps, bees and termites. Westview Press, Boulder, Colorado 331... 

C. myrodora. PAs transferred from the male to the female queen butterfly find their way into the eggs in substantial quantities (Dussourd et al, 1989). This transfer is not an isolated example. Studies by Brown (1984) indicated the presence of PAs in the male reproductive tract of several ithomiine species, and Boppre (1984b) has documented a diversity of breakaway particles in several danaines. The intimate relationships between the insects, their PAs, courtship behavior, and defense are clearly the result of convergence on an effective method of antipredatory defense (Wink and von Nickisch-Rosenegk, 1997). 

The effect of silatranes on another type of insects, the bees has been also studied. It has been found that 1-ethoxysilatrane and 1-ethoxy-3,7,10-trimethylsilatrane increase the lifespan and the weight of body and breeches of bees and stimulate the reproductive activity of the queen thus enabling the colony mass to be increased by 17—30%91. The results suggest that silatranes should be applied in bee-keeping... 

The best understood of the sexual pheromones of social insects is the queen substance of honeybees. Interestingly, the queen substance used for queen control inside the nest is also the substance used by virgin queens to attract drones for mating. Callow and Johnston (1960) and Barbier and Lederer (1960) identified 9-keto-2(E)-decenoic acid ([E]-9-oxodec-2-enoic acid) (9-ODA) as major components of the queen mandibular glands. 9-Hydroxy-2(E)-decenoic acid is also present (Callow et al., 1964) and together both attract drones. Additional components of the queen retinue pheromone have recently been identified (Keeling et al., 2003). 

Isidore N., Romani R., Velasquez D., Renthal R., Bin F. and Vinson S. B. (2000) Antennal glands in queen and worker of the fire ant, Solenopsis invicta Buren first report in female social Aculeata (Hymenoptera, formicidae). Insectes Soc. 47, 236-240. 

Ledoux M. N., Winston M. L., Higo H., Keeling C. I., Slessor K. N. and LeConte Y. (2001) Queen and pheromonal factors influencing comb construction by simulated honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) swarms. Insectes Soc. 48, 14—20. 

Moritz R. F. A., Crewe R. M. and Hepburn H. R. (2002) Queen avoidance and mandibular gland secretion of honeybee workers (Apis mellifera L.). Insectes Soc. 49 86-91. 

Myers J. and Brower L. P. (1969) A behavioral analysis of the courtship pheromone receptors of the queen butterfly, Danaus gilippus berenice. J. Insect Physiol. 15, 2117-2130. 

Dahbi A. and Lenoir A. (1998). Queen and colony odour in the multiple nest ant species, Cataglyphis iberica (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Insect. Soc., 45,... 

Keller, L. and Nonacs, P. (1993). The role of queen pheromones in social insects - Queen control or queen Signal. Animal Behav., 45, 787-794. 

Brian, M.V. and Blum, M.S. (1969). The influence of Myrmica queen head extracts on larval growth../. Insect Physiol., 15, 2213-2223. 

Endler, A., Liebig, J., Schmitt, T., Parker, J.E., Jones, G.R., Schreier, P. and Holldobler, B. (2004). Surface hydrocarbons of queen eggs regulate worker reproduction in a social insect. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 101, 2945-2950. 

Guidugli-Lazzarini, K.R., do Nascimento, A.M., Tanaka, E.D., Piulachs, M.D., Hartfelder, K., Bitondi, M.G. and Simoes, Z.L. (2008). Expression analysis of putative vitellogenin and lipophorin receptors in honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) queens and workers. J. Insect Physiol., 54, 1138-1147. 

Vander Meer, R.K., Glancey, B.M. and Lofgren, C.S. (1982). Biochemical changes in the crop, oesophagus and postpharyngeal gland of colony-founding red imported fire ant queens (Solenopsis invicta). Insect Biochem., 12,123-127. 

Vargo, E. L. and Hulsey, C. D. (2000). Multiple glandular origins of queen pheromones in the fire ant Solenopsis invicta. J. Insect Physiol., 46,1151-1159. 

Carlin, N. and Holldobler, B. (1988). Influence of virgin queens on kin recognition in the carpenter ant Camponotus floridanus (Hymenoptera Formicidae). Insectes Soc., 35, 191-197. 

The social organization of insect colonies indicates the importance of information that is usually not needed in solitary insects. Information about the presence and fertility of a queen strongly affects worker behavior and colony organization. Reproductive competition in colonies requires the correct assessment of each others rank. All of this information about fertility status and/or dominance status can be encoded in the cuticular hydrocarbon profile of members of ant, wasp, and bee colonies. Understanding variations in these hydrocarbon profiles, their composition, and relation to fertility is key to the further understanding of the major property of eusocial insects, reproductive division of labor. 

Despite the importance of such pheromones for the understanding of insect sociality, very little is yet known about them (Le Conte and Hefetz, 2008). So far, in only one species (i.e. the honeybee), has it been shown that a pheromone emitted by a reproductive prevents worker reproduction. In the honeybee, Apis mellifera, it has been suggested that the queen mandibular pheromone (QMP) causes worker ovarian inhibition (Butler and Fairey, 1963). 

We see differences in the cuticular hydrocarbon profiles of reproductive and non-reproduc-tive individuals across species and insect families. The questions are how the patterns differ and whether there are any general patterns at all. This section demonstrates the huge variety in the kind of differences we see. No compound class exists that could generally reflect differences in fertility, nor does a specific pattern in the composition of a profile separate reproductive from non-reproductive individuals. The only pattern that may emerge relates to the reproductive potential of individuals, colony size and queen-worker dimorphism. 

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