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J Chem Ecol

Title:		Drones of the dwarf honey bee Apis florea are attracted to (2E)-9-oxodecenoic acid and (2E)-10-hydroxydecenoic acid
Author(s):		Nagaraja N; Brockmann A;
Address:		"UGC Academic Staff College, Bangalore University, Central College Campus, Bangalore, 560 001, India. nagaraja@bub.ernet.in"
Journal Title:		J Chem Ecol
Year:		2009
Volume:		20090616
Issue:		6
Page Number:		653 - 655
DOI:		10.1007/s10886-009-9648-y
ISSN/ISBN:		1573-1561 (Electronic) 0098-0331 (Linking)
Abstract:		"The queen mandibular gland component (2E)-9-oxodecenoic acid (9-ODA) has been suggested to function as the major sex pheromone component in all honey bee species. In contrast to this hypothesis, chemical analyses showed that in the Asian dwarf honey bee species, Apis florea, a different decenoic acid, (2E)-10-hydroxydecenoic acid (10-HDA), is the major component in the mandibular gland secretion. We show here that A. florea drones are attracted to 9-ODA as well as to 10-HDA. However, 10-HDA attracted higher numbers of drones at lower dosages than 9-ODA, and also was more attractive when directly compared to 9-ODA in a dual attraction experiment. We conclude that 10-HDA has to be viewed as the major sex pheromone in A. florea. The result that both pheromone components are capable of attracting drones when presented alone was unexpected with regard to existing sex pheromone attraction experiments in honey bees"
Keywords:		"Animals Bees/*physiology Fatty Acids, Monounsaturated/chemistry/*pharmacology Sex Attractants/isolation & purification/metabolism/*pharmacology;"
Notes:		"MedlineNagaraja, Narayanappa Brockmann, Axel eng 2009/06/17 J Chem Ecol. 2009 Jun; 35(6):653-5. doi: 10.1007/s10886-009-9648-y. Epub 2009 Jun 16"