MOVEMENT OF HONEY-BEE (APIS-MELLIFERA L) QUEEN MANDIBULAR GLAND PHEROMONE IN POPULOUS AND UNPOPULOUS COLONIES

The mode of intranest transfer of the honey bee queen mandibular gland pheromone complex (QMP) was investigated in unpopulous and populous, slightly congested colonies, using synthetic QMP containing tritiated 9-keto-2(E)-decenoic acid, one of the QMP components. Radiolabel was r apidly transported from the center to the peripheral regions of the ne st, and in a manner consistent with worker to worker transport. Popula tion size and congestion had no effect on the relative rates of moveme nt from the center to the periphery of the nest or on the mean amounts of radiolabel on in&vidual bees. However, a significantly smaller pro portion of the workers in the populous colonies received detectable am ounts of radiolabel than in the uncongested colonies, and workers carr ying especially large amounts of radiolabel were less numerous in the crowded colonies. It is suggested that, at the stage of colony develop ment that the colonies were in, population size has more of an effect on intranest pheromone transmission than does crowding. Interference w ith pheromone transfer may occur only at higher levels of congestion t han were created, and nearer to the reproductive phase of colony devel opment. An alternative hypothesis is that colony crowding does not sig nificantly affect QMP transport and that the onset of reproductive que en rearing may be associated more with changes in worker thresholds of response to QMP.