METHOPRENE DOES NOT AFFECT FOOD PREFERENCES AND FORAGING PERFORMANCE IN HONEY-BEE WORKERS

The fundamental determinants of division of labor among honey bee work ers are age, genotype, and environment. These determinants work throug h intermediate physiological channels to realize particular patterns o f division of labor. The change of juvenile hormone (JH) titer in work er bees is one such channel. Previous studies concentrated on the impa ct of JH on timing of in-hive and foraging activity. Here we examined the effects of JH on task specialization and the collection of pollen or nectar by same-age bees and we tested the possible impact on JH tit er on foraging performance. Methoprene treatments were conducted after workers began to forage inside a flight room. We found that methopren e, a JH analogue, had no effect on preferences for pollen or nectar an d, also, did not influence nectar foraging rate, nectar load size, and foraging span.