Honey bee, Apis mellifera, nestmate discrimination: hydrocarbon effects and the evolutionary implications of comb choice

Abstract

Comb wax in honey bee colonies serves as a source and medium for transmission of recognition cues. Worker honey bees learn the identity of their primary nesting material, the wax comb, within an hour of emergence. In an olfactometer, bees discriminate between combs on the basis of odour; they prefer the odours of previously learned combs. Representatives of three of the most common compound classes in bee's wax were surveyed for effects on nestmate discrimination behaviour. Hexadecane, octadecane, tetracosanoic acid and methyl docosanoate make worker honey bees less acceptable to their untreated sisters. Other similar compounds did not have this effect. These findings support the hypothesis that nestmate recognition in honey bees is mediated by many different compounds, including some related to those found in comb wax.