(Z)-11-EICOSEN-1-OL, A MAJOR COMPONENT OF APIS-CERANA VENOM

The unusual venom of Apis cerana contains large oily droplets within a n otherwise aqueous secretion. Chemical analysis (CC-MS) revealed that the venom oil consists of (Z)-11-eicosen-1-ol (81.2%), other linear a lcohols (7.7%), and linear hydrocarbons (11.1%). The eicosenol is pres ent in extremely large quantities, averaging over 250 mu g per insect, and is absent, or present in small quantities, in other parts of the sting apparatus. An investigation of the site of eicosenol storage in A. mellifera showed it to be absent from the venom and to be associate d with the setose area where the more volatile components of the alarm pheromone are stored, as previously shown by others. A third honeybee species, A. dorsata, does not to contain the alcohol. The function of eicosenol in A. cerana in not clear, but may serve to mark stung intr uders with pheromone or to attract foragers to marked floral resources .