Journal
JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE PHYSIOLOGY A-NEUROETHOLOGY SENSORY NEURAL AND BEHAVIORAL PHYSIOLOGY
Volume 208, Issue 2, Pages 297-302Publisher
SPRINGER HEIDELBERG
DOI: 10.1007/s00359-021-01531-0
Keywords
Queen mandibular pheromone; Queen pheromone; Social wasps; Vespula vulgaris
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Funding
- Bilateral grant FWO-FAPESP [2018/106996-0 FAPESP, FWO GOF8319N]
- Research Foundation Flanders [FWO 12V6318N, FWO 1513219 N]
- Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek [GOF8319N, 1513219 N]
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The queen mandibular pheromone (QMP) plays a crucial role in honeybees, but its effects on other insect species are still unclear.
The queen mandibular pheromone (QMP) identified from the honeybee is responsible for maintaining reproductive division of labour in the colony, and affects multiple behaviours. Interestingly, QMP inhibits reproduction not only in honeybee workers, but also in distantly related insect species such as fruit flies and bumblebees. This study examines whether QMP also affects worker reproduction in the common wasp Vespula vulgaris. Wasp workers were exposed to one of the following treatments: QMP, wasp queen pheromone (the hydrocarbon heptacosane n-C-27), or acetone (solvent-only control). After dissecting the workers, no evidence that QMP inhibits development in V. vulgaris could be found. However, this study could confirm the inhibitory effect of the hydrocarbon heptacosane on ovary activation. The reason why non-social species such as the fruit fly and social species such as bumblebees and ants respond to the QMP, while the social wasp V. vulgaris does not, is unclear. The investigation of whether olfaction is key to sensing QMP in other insect species, and the detailed study of odorant receptors in other social insects, may provide insights into the mechanisms of response to this pheromone.
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