Abstract
We describe differences in the chemical composition of the Dufour gland secretion of virgin and physogastric queens of Melipona bicolor through gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. The Dufour gland secretion of virgin queens consists only of hydrocarbons, while that of physogastric queens contains, besides these, a variety of other compounds, such as isobutyrate and acetate esters. Such differences may indicate the queen fecundity condition and the oxygenated compounds of the physogastrics secretion may help to increase their attractiveness.
Highlights
The Dufour gland is found in all female hymenopterans
The small number of physogastric queens analyzed reflected the fact that this species is uncommon in the State of São Paulo, and that the few colonies maintained in the apiaries at the Universidade Estadual de São Paulo (USP) and at Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP) - Rio Claro are very fragile, and are used in several other research projects
The bees were dissected in distilled water and the glands were transferred to a soda glass capillary 1 mm in diameter and sealed in a flame for subsequent analysis by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC/MS), as described by Morgan and Wadhams.[22]
Summary
The Dufour gland is found in all female hymenopterans. In bees, the gland is located at the base of the sting apparatus, ventrally to the poison gland, and opens into the dorsal vaginal wall.[1]. In stingless bees (Meliponini), in only one species, Nanatrigona testaceicornis workers, the chemical composition of the Dufour gland secretion has been studied In this species 64% of the secretion consisted of the ester diterpene all-trans-geranylgeranyl acetate.[20]. Synchronously with the egg laying, and this may attracts and stimulates the workers to help the queen in the provisioning and oviposition processes.[21] The most likely source of this pheromone seems to be the Dufour gland. To examine this possibility, we have first analyzed the Dufour gland secretion of virgin and physogastric queens of M. bicolor
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