Virgin Queens Research Articles

Nothomyrmecia macrops : A Living-Fossil Ant Rediscovered

The Australian Nothomyrmecia macrops is the most primitive living ant. Until recently rediscovered, it was known only from two 46-year-old specimens, both workers. All developmental stages and adult castes are now known. Adults have stridulatory organs placed ventrally, between abdominal sternites III (with plectrum) and IV (with stridulitrum), differing from all other Hymenoptera, where these organs are dorsal. The chromosome number is the highest recorded for Hymenoptera (2n = 92). Virgin queens are brachypterous. Other anatomical and behavioral features are reviewed. Most are primitive for ants, many being shared with Myrmecia, another primitive Australian genus. Fundamental differences in abdominal structure place Myrmecia near the base of the poneroid phylad of ant subfamilies, while Nothomyrmecia is a primitive formicoid.

Studies on the role of the infrabuccal pocket of the leaf-cutting antAcromyrmex octospinosus (Reich) (Hym., Formicidae)

The leaf-cutting antAcromyrmex octospinosus was shown to filter out into its infrabuccal pocket from liquid food, particles down to ten μ in diameter. The pocket acted as a receptacle for material licked from the ants' fungus garden and from their own bodies, and for leaf wax licked from leaves used for fungus culture. The infrabuccal pellets of worker ants, which might contain contaminating fungal spores, were always found away from the fungus garden and mostly on the refuse dump. Virgin queens however, regurgitated their pellets onto the fungus garden. Pellets regurgitated by worker ants were streaked onto agar plates, and from these the ant fungus was cultured. Worker ants were not able to start a new fungus garden, but the use of the infrabuccal pocket by queens to transmit the ant fungus to newly founded colonies can be seen as part of a general behaviour pattern.

Vibration of Queen Cells by Worker Honeybees and its Relation to the Issue of Swarms with Virgin Queens

SummaryIn 4 honeybee colonies (Apis mellifera adansonii) where the workers did not perform vibratory dances on emergency queen cells, the first queen to emerge attacked the other queen cells. The queens were not themselves vibrated until they had destroyed these cells, and they did not pipe. On average they matured in 7 days 2 h after their cells were sealed.In 3 other colonies the workers vibrated emergency queen cells, and this behaviour was associated with imprisonment of most of the queens, piping by one of the first queens to emerge, and swarming. Typically, the number of vibratory dances performed rose to a peak on all cells at about the time the first queens matured. The number then dropped sharply when a free queen began to pipe, but rose to a new peak in the absence of piping when that queen left the hive with a swarm. Some of the workers vibrated individual cells at an increased rate while other workers were resealing cuts made in the cell caps by the queens in them. It was concluded that both v...

The Influence of Vibratory Dances by Worker Honeybees on the Activity of Virgin Queens

SummaryThe function of the vibratory dance of honeybees was investigated through its effects on the activities of virgin queens. It is improbable that this dance promotes flight by queens and workers, as has been suggested, because virgins were vibrated by workers as often after returning from an orientation or mating flight as before leaving on a flight. On the other hand, virgins were vibrated twice as often when they were active on the combs as when they were inactive, and following vibration they became (or remained) inactive twice as often as they became (or remained) active. These results support the hypothesis that vibratory dances have an inhibitory effect on the activity of other members of the colony.

The Seasonal Cycle of Swarming in Honeybees

SummaryA six-year study of natural swarming in Ithaca, NY, USA, showed a bimodal distribution for date of swarm emergence, with a peak during the first two weeks in June and a lesser peak during the last week in August and the first week in September. The mean swarm size for 126 swarms was 1·53 kg (11 800 bees). The mean weight of 116 swarm queens was 195·9 mg; of mated queens 203·4 mg, and of virgin queens 185·0 mg. Data from 1976 suggest that a virgin or a young mated queen may accompany a prime swarm.

Age dependent changes in histamine content of venom of queen and worker honey bees

We have compared the variation in histamine content of the venom of worker honey bees maintained in the field with those in an indoor flight room. We find that the temporal changes in venom histamine content are parallel under the different conditions. We have measured the histamine content of different regions of the venom system of virgin queen bees and found temporal changes in histamine concentration which parallel those seen in workers. While the absolute amounts of histamine in the queen venom system exceed those measured in workers, we estimate that the histamine concentration in queen and worker venom is similar. The LD 50 of histamine, injected into the haemocoele of worker bees in saline, is found to be 3.2 μg/worker.

Effects of Carbon Dioxide on Vitellogenin Metabolism in Unmated Queen Honeybees

SummarySixty-one young virgin queen honeybees (Apis mellifera adansonii hybrids) received a double CO2 narcosis, as usually applied in instrumental insemination. These (non-inseminated) queens were then introduced into nucleus colonies. Within 2 days of the second CO2 treatment vitellogenin synthesis was stimulated rapidly, resulting in a doubling of the vitellogenin content of the haemolymph. A further slow increase of vitellogenin synthesis during the next 6 days indicated the initiation of vitellogenesis, which resulted a slight decline in the vitellogenin content of the haemolymph, and also an increase of about 50% in the body weight. All values levelled off in egg-laying queens.The effects described did not occur in 8 control queens which remained caged after the second CO2 a application. It is therefore concluded that there was social conditioning of the queen's vitellogenin metabolism.

Social biology ofStelopolybia areata (Say) in Mexico (Hymenoptera: Vespidae)

Two colonies ofStelopolybia areata were collected in southern Veracruz in late July and early August 1974. Their adult populations totalled 5,193 and 21,800. The latter figure sets a new record for size in polistine colonies. Oviposition begins in the center of the spherical nest and works outward, central cells being refilled with eggs as they are emptied by eclosing adults. Production of males had apparently just begun in both colonies, and virgin queen production was beginning in the colony collected in August. The data from these two colonies, when combined with those from colonies collected in January and February (Jeanne, 1973), suggest the following rough outline of the colony cycle in southern Veracruz. Swarms of several thousand adults, comprising 5–12% queens and the rest workers, overwinter in either the parental nest or a nest newly constructed by the swarm. Oviposition begins in early February. Between February and the end of July worker population increases while founding queens gradually disappear. In July male offspring begin eclosing from the outer combs, and by the beginning of August virgin queens begin to eclose from the central combs.

Overwintering of Honeybee Queens. 1. Maintenance of Honeybee Queens in Solitary Confinement

SummarySeventy-two virgin honeybee queens and the same number of mated queens were stored in solitary confinement without worker bees, in incubators at temperatures of 21°, 24°, 27° or 30°C and relative humidities (RH) of 40%, 60% or 80%. The mated queens lived significantly longer than the virgin queens. As the temperature increased and the relative humidity decreased the length of survival of these queens increased. The longest survival was among the mated queens held at 30° and 40% RH; one queen survived for more than 120 days. No relationship was established between virgin queens' length of life, temperature and RH. Two groups of 10 mated queens were held for 55 days at 40% RH and at temperatures of 30° and 32°, respectively; at 32° all queens died, but at 30° four queens survived.Twenty-four mated queens were stored at 30° and 40% RH for 56 days (1st March-26th April) and 12 survived. Eight of these queens were introduced into small colonies; 12 colonies with sister queens which had overwintered outd...

Biology of the Spermatozoon ofApis Mellifera.I. Influence Of Diluents and pH

SummaryA relationship between the pH of the spermathecal fluid and the age of Apis mellifera virgin queens was found. When the queens were 5 days old the pH was 9·7 and it is at this age that mating flights start. It is suggested that spermatozoa migrate to the spermatheca by chemotoxis, due to the difference in pH of the semen (7·) and spermathecal fluid. Coconut water, pH 7·, was a very good preserving agent and diluent of A. mellifera sperm.

Behavioural Studies on Queen Introduction in the Honeybee. 2. Effect of Age and Storage Conditions of Virgin Queens on their Attractiveness to Workers

SummaryThe response of worker honeybees was observed towards 5 age groups of 10 virgin queens in perspex cages. The introduced queens were most readily accepted at the ages of 7 and 35 days; those aged 14, 21 or 28 days were usually rejected. A multiple regression showed that worker aggression was dependent upon the queen's age and attractiveness, and that attractiveness was the more important factor.The weight loss of virgin queens, stored for 5 days in either queenless or queenright colonies which were fed or unfed, was greatest in queenright unfed colonies. Aggression of groups of 75 caged workers was greatest towards introduced queens which had been stored in queenless unfed colonies.A group of 10 virgin queens stored for 4 days in laboratory cages or in a queenless colony in a flight room lost significantly more weight than 10 queens stored in a queenless colony outdoors. The attractiveness of the queens from the outdoor colony was considerably higher than that of the queens from the other 2 groups.

Behavioural Studies on Queen Introduction in the Honeybee 1. Effect of the Age of Workers (From a Colony with a Laying Queen) on their Behaviour towards an Introduced Virgin Queen

SummaryThe age of the workers influenced their behaviour towards a virgin queen introduced to them. Young workers (7 days old) accepted an introduced virgin queen, whereas older workers (14 or 21 days) usually rejected her. Workers 14 days old were more aggressive than those 21 days old. The “aggression score” increased linearly in workers from 8 to 12 days old. The number of pollen collectors also increased linearly throughout this period, but the number of guard bees was greatest at 10 days.

Biological and behavioural aspects of the reproduction in some species of Melipona (hymenoptera, apidae, meliponinae)

Queen replacement in Melipona quadrifasciata is described for the first time and the observed data are compared with those obtained by experimentally removing the physogastric queen of M. quadrifasciata and M. quinquefasciata from the hive. A behavioural account of virgin queens, including the subsequent ethological patterns following her mating and intergration in the hive, is given. Artificial insemination in Melipona queens is possible and some data on the biology of the sperms were obtained.

Aggressive behavior of Apis mellifera L. workers towards introduced queens. III. Relationship between the attractiveness of the queen and worker aggression

The attractiveness of virgin queens of five age groups was determined using a new bioassay technique; queen attractiveness increased with age. By introducing queens of these age groups to small cages of worker bees, a direct relationship was found between queen attractiveness and worker aggression. The significance of these results is discussed.

Aggressive behavior of Apis mellifera L. workers towards introduced queens. II. Role of the mandibular gland contents of the queen in releasing aggressive behavior.

Removal of the mandibular glands from virgin queens eliminated the balling response of workers towards them. Worker bees coated with the contents of queen mandibular glands elicited aggressive behavior in sister workers; the aggression increased with an increasing amount of gland contents. The contents of glands removed while the queen was under complete anaesthesia appeared to provoke less worker aggression.

Correlations Between the Age at Which Honeybee Brood was Grafted, Characteristics of the Resultant Queens, and Results of Insemination

SummaryQueens were reared from eggs and from larvae 1, 2, 3 and 4 days old. They were then mated either naturally or instrumentally with 1 to 2×8 mm3 of semen. Each increase of 1 day in the age of brood grafted decreased not only the body weight, the size of the spermatheca and the number of ovarioles of the virgin queens, but also the number of spermatozoa in the spermathecae of naturally and instrumentally inseminated queens. A given amount of semen injected into the oviducts resulted in different numbers but similar concentrations of spermatozoa in spermathecae of different sizes. A smaller number of spermatozoa entered the smaller spermathecae, despite a surplus of semen in the oviducts and plenty of space in the spermathecae. Correlation coefficients between different characters were significant only when queens reared from brood of different age were compared. Partial correlations showed that a direct correlation existed between the age of grafted brood and the number of spermatozoa in the spermathecae of mated queens.The process of weighing virgin queens therefore helps in their selection.

The Icy Fire: Five Studies in European Petrarchism

Introductory note Notes on illustrations Preface Acknowledgements 1. The Petrarchan manner: an introduction 2. European petrarchism as training in poetic diction 3. Conventional safety values: alba, pastourelle and epithalamium 4. The political petrarchism of the Virgin Queen 5. Lynkeus' masque in Hoethe's Faust II Notes Bibliography Tailpiece Index.

The End of Elizabethan Drama

Antonio's reflections, at the tomb of the heroine in The Duchess of Malfi, reverberate to him from a ruined abbey with an echo of finality : Like death that we have! Yet, strictly speaking, the existence of institutions and communities - let alone historical movements - can never be terminated as readily or as decisively as the individual lives of human beings. Hence the regime of a given ruler, while it sets a somewhat arbitrary terminus a quo and terminus ad quem, is less problematic than our retrospective arguments over some other beginning or ending of a particular period. It has proved much easier to talk about the reign of Elizabeth I than about the Renaissance in England. We do not speak of Attic tragedy as Periclean, nor do we refer to the theater of the Sigio de Oro as Philippine, and we have better reason to link Moliere and Racine with Louis XIV than we have to associate Shakespeare with the Virgin Queen. Nonetheless we are so impressed by the drama of her career, if not by her own theatrical interests, that we allow her to exceed its limits by almost forty years. No cut-off point for any branch of literature was ever quite so absolute as the closure of the theaters by order of the Long Parliament in 1642. Can we justify the presupposition that the English drama continued to be Elizabethan all the way up to that point? Are we justified, for that matter, in assuming that its prior development had been continuous? Father Harold Gardiner, in Mysteries3 End, argues for an earlier discontinuity, blaming Elizabeth for the suppression of the religious cycles.2 David Bevington, in From Mankind to Marlowe, has retraced a gradual train of secularization through the moralities and the troops of players.3 Recently, in Christian Rite and Christian Drama, O. B. Hardison, Jr., has renewed the attack on an evolutionary conception

Factors influencing ovary development of worker honeybees under natural conditions

The ovaries of worker bees of known ages were examined in colonies which (a) were queenright, (b) were queenless, (c) had a virgin queen, (d) were queenless but had queen cups containing young female larvae, (e) were rearing their own queens, (f) were queenless but had only queen larvae present, and (g) were queenless but had only queen pupae present. Many worker bees developed their ovaries in treatments (b), (c), (d), (e), (f), and (g) but not in (a). The significance of these results is discussed.

Attraction of Apis mellifera drones by the odours of the queens of two other species of honeybees.

ETHANOL extracts of the queens of three species of honeybees, Apis mellifera, A. cerana sub-species indica and A. florea, contain substances that inhibit both queen rearing by workers of A. mellifera and development of the ovaries of workers of this species1,2. Rearing of queens and development of workers' ovaries in A. mellifera colonies are inhibited by the pheromone, 9-oxodec-trans-2-enoic acid, which is produced in the queen's mandibular glands3 and which also serves as the olfactory sex attractant in this species4,5. It has been suggested that it would be interesting to find out whether the odours of the queens of the other three species of honeybees, Apis cerana, A. dorsata and A. florea, attract drones of A. mellifera and, if so, whether such attraction is also caused by 9-oxodecenoic acid2. Nubile virgin queens of these species were not available, and so tests were made with mated queens of A. cerana sub-species indica and A. florea which had been preserved in ethanol for several years.