A metabolic test for the quantitative analysis of alarm behavior of honeybees (Apis mellifera L.)
✍ Scribed by Moritz, Robin F. A. ;Southwick, Edward E. ;Breh, Michael
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1985
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 404 KB
- Volume
- 235
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0022-104X
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✦ Synopsis
Abstract
The reaction of a group of 40 worker honeybees to exposure to the major compound of the alarm pheromone Iso‐pentyl‐acetate (IPa) can be easily quantified by their metabolic response. A flow through system oxygen consumption of the bees shows a characteristic increase within 30 sec after the application of IPA. There are significant differences in response among colonies in the tested population; these were most extreme for 4‐day‐old workers. As there is a highly significant correlation between the colony defense in the field and the metabolic laboratory test, this technique may be usable as a routine in breeding programs for honeybees with low defensive behavior.