5-Hydroxytryptamine in the venom of the honey bee (Apis mellifera L.): Variation with season and with insect age

Abstract

5-Hydroxytryptamine in the venom of the honey bee ( Apis mellifera L.): variation with season and with insect age. Toxicon 26, 577 – 581, 1988. — We used liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection to show that 5-HT is present in the venom of worker honey bees ( Apis mellifera L.). Immunohistochemical demonstration of 5-HT-like immunoreactivity within the venom reservoir supports this finding. Measurements were made on bees of known age at various times during the summer season. The amount of 5-HT in the venom system varies with the age of the bee and with the time of year at which the bees reached a specific age. 5-HT is shown to be a component of pure venom, rather than simply present in venom gland and reservoir tissues, by its presence in venom collected by electrical ‘milking’ of worker bees.