Comparisons of Juvenile Hormone Hemolymph and Octopamine Brain Titers in Honey Bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Selected for High and Low Pollen Hoarding

Abstract

We measured circulating levels of juvenile hormone III (JH) and brain region levels of dopamine, serotonin, and octopamine in honey bees, Apis mellifera L., from artificially selected high and low pollen-hoarding strains that show differences in their rate of behavioral development. One-day-old bees from the high pollen-hoarding strain had significantly higher JH titers than 1-d-old bees from a low pollen-hoarding strain. Conversely, there were no differences in JH levels in 12-d-old preforager bees from the high and low strains. Brain region levels of all three amines increased with age, but there were no differences between high and low pollen-hoarding bees in any of the three amines in any region of the brain. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that endocrine events occurring early in adulthood influence honey bee behavioral development.