Individual Recognition of Queens by Honey Bee Swarms
- 15 January 1979
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in Annals of the Entomological Society of America
- Vol. 72 (1) , 51-53
- https://doi.org/10.1093/aesa/72.1.51
Abstract
Worker honey bees, Apis mellifera L., distinguish between their own and foreign queens on the basis of individual characteristics. An odoriferous characteristic, such as a shellac paint marking on the queen's thorax, is used by the workers to recognize their queen. However, a tactile physical characteristic of a queen, such as clipped wings, is apparently not used for recognition. Colony odors derived from the hive environment also may play a role in queen discrimination by honey bee swarms.This publication has 1 reference indexed in Scilit:
- The origin of the odours by which honeybees distinguish their companionsProceedings of the Royal Society of London. B. Biological Sciences, 1952