E-B-ocimene and brood cannibalism: Interplay between a honey bee larval pheromone and brood regulation in summer dearth colonies.

ABSTRACT: Honey bees balance colony populations against available food resources by adjusting brood rearing during nutritionally-stressed periods. Workers limit colony populations primarily through brood cannibalism of eggs and young larvae but often resume brood rearing when conditions improve. However, extended brood cannibalism reduces brood and removes brood signals that mediate brood rearing, such as E-β-ocimene, a volatile pheromone produced by eggs, young larvae, prepupae and ovipositing queens. We examined the effects of pollen supplementation on ocimene signaling in nutritionally-stressed colonies. Pollen-deprived colonies showed declines in ocimene emissions that coincided with sustained brood cannibalism of pheromone-producing brood. In contrast, pollen-supplemented colonies reared more b

SUBMITTER: Carroll MJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11801708 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature