The kairomonal esters attractive to the Varroa jacobsoni mite in the queen brood

J. Trouiller; G. Arnold; B. Chappe; Y. Le Conte; A. Billion; C. Masson

doi:doi:10.1051/apido:19940306

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Volume 25 / No 3 (1994)

Apidologie, 25 3 (1994) 314-321

Abstract

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Issue		Apidologie Volume 25, Number 3, 1994


Page(s)		314 - 321
DOI		https://doi.org/10.1051/apido:19940306

Apidologie 25 (1994) 314-321
DOI: 10.1051/apido:19940306

The kairomonal esters attractive to the Varroa jacobsoni mite in the queen brood

J. Trouiller^a, G. Arnold^a, B. Chappe^b, Y. Le Conte^c, A. Billion^b and C. Masson^a

^a INRA-CNRS, Laboratoire de Neurobiologie Comparée des Invertébrés, BP 23, 91440 Bures-sur-Yvette, France
^b CNRS, Institut de Chimie des Substances Naturelles, 91198 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
^c INRA, Station de Recherches de Zoologie et d'Apidologie, 84143 Montfavet Cedex, France

Abstract - In the queen brood, methyl and ethyl esters reach their maximum secretion around the capping period. During this period, 3 kairomonal esters attractive to the parasitic mite Varroa jacobsoni are secreted by queen brood at half the rate found for worker brood. Methyl oleate, repellent to the mite, is secreted in large amounts compared with the attractive esters. Quantitative and qualitative differences in the esters present on worker, drone, and queen broods could partially explain the weaker attraction exerted by queen brood on the mite, compared with the attractive effects of worker and drone broods.

Key words: brood pheromone / ethyl ester / methyl ester / kairomone / queen brood / Varroa jacobsoni