Abstract
Honeybees are attracted to a variety of odors, including the secretion of their Nasonov glands, a secretion that has been widely assumed to be an orientation and attraction pheromone. A crossover design experiment comparing synthetic Nasonov secretion with linalool, oil of clove, skatole, and wax moth sex pheromone was established to determine if Nasonov secretion serves as a true pheromone or is simply a general attractant for honeybee swarms. None of the test odors was more attractive than odorless controls, and in all comparisons, synthetic Nasonov secretion was significantly more attractive than the test odors or odorless controls. The results confirm that Nasonov secretion is a true pheromone in the context of attracting honeybee swarms to nest cavities and that environmentally present or apparent odors play little or no role in honeybee nest-seeking behavior.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.