INRA, Unité de Zoologie, Laboratoire de Biologie et Protection de l'Abeille, Site Agroparc, 84914 Avignon Cedex 9, France.
Honey bee Apis mellifera colonies have evolved to a complete dependence of the brood to the workers. Nurses develop different complex behaviors toward the larvae relatively to their age, sex and needs. We present results of a program which aims to characterize pheromones involved in the larvae / workers relationships. We found a blend of 10 fatty acid esters identified on honey bee larvae, and characterized it as a releaser pheromone triggering brood care from nurses. Four compounds of the blend had been shown to act as a primer pheromone on the physiological state of adult worker, particularly on ovary and hypopharyngeal glands development. Controlled and free flying experiments showed that the brood pheromone can inhibit worker JH level and behavioral development as well. This brood pheromone play a central role in the social regulation of the honey bee colony; preliminary results show that there are additive effect of this pheromone with the queen mandibular pheromone.