Mandibular Gland Secretion of Melipona beecheii: Chemistry and Behavior

Abstract

The mandibular gland secretion of Melipona beecheii contains a rich mixture of terpenoid and oxygenated compounds and unsaturated and saturated hydrocarbons. However, it differs markedly from the 11 other Brazilian species examined in previous studies, both by the absence of 2-heptanol and the presence of rose oxides. The most abundant compound was geranyl hexanoate, whereas the most volatile compounds were cis- and trans-rose oxide and geraniol. The complete blend and five individual components found in the gland secretion were tested by electroantennography (EAG) and behavioral assays. The complete mandibular gland extract and geraniol elicited the strongest EAG responses, whereas these and farnesyl acetate induced the strongest attack response from workers. The role of the rose oxides remains to be elucidated, as they do not appear to play a major role as an alarm pheromone of this species.

A Two-Component Female-Produced Pheromone of the Spider Pholcus beijingensis

“…The major pheromone component of P. beijingensis (FA), was identified previously as a sex pheromone component of the click beetle, Agriotes proximus (Coleoptera: Elateridae) (Yatsynin et al 1980(Yatsynin et al , 1996. This compound also was reported from male Scandinavian bumblebees, Bombus pratorum (Bergman and Bergström 1997), the rock honeybee Apis dorsata (Blum et al 2000), and the stingless bee Melipona beecheii (Cruz-López et al 2005). Recently, FA was described as a sex pheromone component in the preputial gland of male Brandt's voles, Lasiopodomys brandtii, where it attracts females (Zhang et al 2007b).…”

Correlation between mandibular gland secretion and cuticular hydrocarbons in the stingless bee Melipona quadrifasciata

“…In addition, the mandibular gland secretion is frequently used for defense or attack (Kerr and Cruz, 1961;Hefetz et al, 1979;Smith and Roubik, 1983;Cruz-Lopez et al, 2005).…”

Molecular evolutionary analyses of insect societies

“…The queen pheromone attracts workers to the queen, partially inhibits worker ovary development, and acts as a sex pheromone, among other functions (24). The specific molecular characteristics of AmOr11 that are involved in the perception of 9-ODA are not yet known, but it appears that it arose early in Apis evolution (52)(53)(54).…”