Queen Bees Use Chemical Signals to Keep Their Daughters Home
The pheromones also reduced daughters’ reproductive development, and higher levels were linked to more eggs and more helpers, researchers said.
- Published yesterday in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, a study by evolutionary biologist Callum Kingwell found that Megalopta queen pheromones signal reproductive health and influence whether daughters stay to help or leave to reproduce independently.
- On Barro Colorado Island in Panama, researchers studied the sweat bee species to understand why daughters choose to remain as helpers or leave to establish nests, investigating whether queen pheromones serve as honest advertisements of reproductive capability.
- Chemical analyses identified methylalkanes as key pheromones that inhibit daughters' ovarian development. Because producing these compounds requires dietary protein essential for reproduction, they act as reliable advertisements of a queen's fitness, Kingwell explained.
- Higher pheromone levels in nests correlate with more daughters choosing to stay and help their mother. These findings suggest queens use chemical signals to help daughters decide between cooperation and independent reproduction.
- Kingwell added, "The evolution of cooperation is a fundamental question that extends far beyond insects." Chemical communication in bee colonies offers insights into evolutionary biology and social systems generally, the study suggests.
22 Articles
22 Articles
Queen bee pheromones help daughters decide whether to stay or leave the nest
Female sweat bees need to make a pivotal life decision: remain in the nest to help their mother raise more offspring or leave to establish nests of their own. New research from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) found that queen pheromones help influence that choice, offering new insight into how cooperation evolved in insect societies.
In This Bee Species, Why Do Some Daughters Leave Home While Others Stay 'Bee-hind' to Help Mom?
Biologists at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute investigated a flexible social bee species, which helps shed light on the evolution of more complex organizational structures among other insects
The pheromones of a queen bee can help young furrow bees choose between continuing to help and starting a nest of their own. Subscribe to the newsletter! Want the latest science news fresh in your inbox every day? Or every week? Subscribe to the newsletter here! When a female furrow bee becomes an adult, she stands for […] More science? Read the latest articles on Scientias.nl.
This could have developed cooperation in insect communities: The pheromones of the queen bee make her daughters helpers in the nest.
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 70% of the sources are Center
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
