News Headline

In stingless bee species, queens control worker reproduction without castration

Source
Phys.org

Publication Date
2017-09-13

Scientists have studied the organization and function of social insect colonies since Charles Darwin (1809-1882) investigated beehives near his home in Kent with the help of his five children. Since then, prompted by the theory of evolution, researchers have scrutinized every conceivable aspect of the life of bees. Decades ago, scientists discovered that in the nests of many species of European honeybees (genus Apis) in which healthy young queens regularly lay eggs, the queen uses chemical compounds called pheromones to inhibit worker reproduction.

Content
https://phys.org/news/2017-09-stingless-bee-species-queens-worker.html