Queens and workers are not morphologically differentiated in the primitively eusocial wasp, Ropalidia marginata. Upon removal of the queen, one of the workers becomes extremely aggressive, but immediately drops her aggression if the queen is returned. If the queen is not returned, this hyper-aggressive individual, the potential queen (PQ), will develop her ovaries, lose her hyper-aggression, and become the next colony queen. Because of the non-aggressive nature of the queen, and because the PQ loses her aggression by the time she starts laying eggs, we hypothesized that regulation of worker reproduction in R. marginata is mediated by pheromones rather than by physical aggression. Based on the immediate loss of aggression by the PQ upon return of the queen, we developed a bioassay to test whether the queen's Dufour's gland is, at least, one of the sources of the queen pheromone. Macerates of the queen's Dufour's gland, but not that of the worker's Dufour's gland, mimic the queen in making the PQ decrease her aggression. We also correctly distinguished queens and workers of R. marginata nests by a discriminant function analysis based on the chemical composition of their respective Dufour's glands.

An alcoholic extract of Sterculia foetida L. leaves was subjected to pharmacological screening using various animal models. The extract caused reduced exploratory activity in mice. Further it potentiated pentobarbitone sleeping time in normal and chronic pentobarbitone-treated mice. It also potentiated barbital sodium-induced hypnosis, indicating central nervous system depressant activity. The extract also exhibited significant antiinflammatory activity in the acute carrageenan-induced rat paw edema and the chronic granuloma pouch models. However, it was devoid of analgesic activity in the tail flick model.

The biodegradation of profenofos, an organophosphorus insecticide, by four Bacillus subtilis strains, namely, DR-39, CS-126, TL-171, and TS-204, isolated from grapevines or grape rhizosphere was studied in liquid culture, on grape berries, and in vineyard soil. Each of the four B. subtilis strains enhanced the degradation of profenofos in all three matrices. Degradation rate constants were best obtained by first + first-order kinetics module. In nutrient broth spiked with 5 μg/mL profenofos, inoculation with B. subtilis strains DR-39, CS-126, TL-171, and TS-204 reduced the half-life (DT50) of profenofos to 4.03, 3.57, 2.87, and 2.53 days, respectively, from the DT50 = 12.90 days observed in the uninoculated control. In Thompson Seedless grapes sprayed with profenofos at a field dose of 1250 mL ai/ha, the DT50 values were 1.07, 1.00, 2.13, and 2.20 days in grapes inoculated with B. subtilis strains DR-39, CS-126, TL-171, and TS-204, respectively, as compared to 2.20 days in uninoculated grapes. These four B. subtilis strains also enhanced the degradation of profenofos in autoclaved soil (DT50 = 5.93, 7.47, 6.00, and 4.37 days) and in nonautoclaved soil (DT50 = 0.87, 2.00, 2.07, and 2.43 days) amended with 5 μg/g profenofos from the half-lives of 17.37 and 14.37 days in respective uninoculated soils. Growth dynamic studies indicated that all four B. subtilis strains were able to establish and proliferate on berries and soil equally well in the presence or absence of profenofos. Degradation product 4-bromo-2-chlorophenol was identified by GC-MS. Strain DR-39 was most effective in the natural environments of grape and soil.

Little information is available regarding the adverse effects of pesticides on natural honey bee populations. This study highlights the detrimental effects of pesticides on honey bee olfaction through behavioural studies, scanning electron microscopic imaging of antennal sensillae and confocal microscopic studies of honey bee brains for calcium ions on Apis cerana, a native Indian honey bee species. There was a significant decrease in proboscis extension response and biologically active free calcium ions and adverse changes in antennal sensillae in pesticide exposed field honey bee populations compared to morphometrically similar honey bees sampled from low/no pesticide sites. Controlled laboratory experiments corroborated these findings. This study reports for the first time the changes in antennal sensillae, expression of Calpain 1(an important calcium binding protein) and resting state free calcium in brains of honey bees exposed to pesticide stress.Pesticide exposure can have direct effects on individual bees as well as indirect effects on entire colonies 1 and has been cited as one of the potential causes for global honey bee loss through colony collapse disorder 2,3

Hitherto unknown biological properties and the chemical composition of the essential oil isolated from propolis of Indian origin were established. GC/MS Analysis of the essential oil revealed the presence of 32 constituents, of which ten were major compounds, nine had intermediate contents, and 13 were minor compounds. With the exception of six minor constituents, that could not be identified, their identification was based on the comparison of their mass spectra and Kovats retention indices with those listed in the NIST and Wiley mass spectral libraries. Their structural assignment was confirmed by GC/MS co-injection of the essential oil with authentic compounds. Quantification of the components was done by GC-FID analyses. Moreover, the essential oil was shown to possess repellent activity against the honeybee Apis florea. The activity was found to be dose dependent. The average repellency (ΔR) increased with increasing essential-oil concentration up to 24 μg/ml and remained constant for the formulation with the higher concentration. These findings established the chemical constitution of the essential oil and might be useful to beekeepers for the improvement of the bee management.