Summary
The effects of worker age, brood stage and time of brood introduction or brood withdrawal on the hypopharyngeal (HP) gland activity of worker bees were examined. Worker age exerted a marked influence on gland activity. Only larvae affected HP gland activity, while eggs and pupae did not. Bees had inactive glands until their third day of larval feeding and they maintained high gland activity for approximately three days after larval removal. The data are congruent with the hypothesis that feeding behaviour itself causes gland activation, although the possibility that larvae produce a primer pheromone cannot be excluded.
Resume
On examine différents facteurs qui pourraient affecter l'activité des glandes hypopharyngiennes (HP) des ouvrières d'Abeille, tels que l'âge des ouvrières, les stades de développement du couvain et le moment d'introduction ou de retrait du couvain. L'âge des abeilles exerce une influence marquée sur l'activité des glandes HP; celle-ci est corrélée avec la croissance et la résorption des glandes décrites dans la littérature. Seules les larves sont aptes à activer les glandes HP, alors que les œufs et les nymphes ne le sont pas. Les glandes de l'abeille restent inactives pendant trois jours après le début du nourrissage des larves; elles conservent leur activité pendant trois jours environ après le retrait des larves. Ces données sont en accord avec l'hypothèse que c'est le comportement de nourrissage lui-même qui active les glandes; cependant, on ne peut exclure la possibilité que les larves produisent une phéromone stimulante.
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Huang, Z.Y., Otis, G.W. Factors determining hypopharyngeal gland activity of worker honey bees (Apis mellifera L.). Ins. Soc 36, 264–276 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02224880
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02224880