Quote from Bee-L 
> However, it is evident, from our research at the University of Thessaloniki, that 2-heptanone is not an alarm pheromone of honeybees.  

Response:

This is certainly contradicted by the bulk of research involving 2-heptanone. This semiochemical is ubiquitous and is used as such by species ranging from bees and ants to mice, rats and humans. 

> A vital part of honeybee colony defense is the communication of alarm the use of pheromones (Maschwitz, 1964; Collins et al., 1980). Various investigators have identified alarm pheromones by chemical analysis and assay of biological activity. Shearer and Boch (1965) reported on the alarm activity of 2-heptanone (2HPT) isolated from mandibular glands in the head.

> Kerr et al. (1974), using Africanized bees, reported that levels of 2HPT were positively correlated with three measures of defensive behavior: time to first sting, time to visible worker response, and number of stings.

ALARM PHEROMONE PRODUCTION BY TWO HONEYBEE (Apis mellifera) TYPES
ANITA M. COLLINS,  THOMAS E. RINDERER et al
Journal of Chemical Ecology, Vol. 15, No. 6, 1989

* * *

> The odors emanating from physically stressed rodents are recognized by conspecifics (220, 386). Once the chemical signal is perceived, the receiver undergoes significant changes. These bodily compounds, defined as alarm pheromones, signal alert to the presence of a potential danger, promoting dispersion and the adoption of defensive actions in the group (400).

> Among other ketones, 2-heptanone is detectable in the mouse and rat urine (97, 342). In rat, 2-heptanone was found to be increased in urine of stressed subjects

> Mouse ecology is largely triggered by pheromonal signals, which have been investigated for a long time, and therefore, mice represent the world-wide animal model to study intraspecies communication. In the last decade, an enormous burden of data has been collected and, how it is often the case, there is yet an open and sometimes contrasting debate on the specific properties of the different signaling molecules.

> Signaling pheromones also account for many behavioral responses in the mouse. For example, male as well as lactating female aggressiveness towards an intruder male are both believed to be triggered by molecules that are present in male urine.

From Pheromones to Behavior
ROBERTO TIRINDELLI
Physiol Rev 89: 921–956, 2009

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> The main goal of this study was to investigate the suitability of the ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) for the quantitative monitoring of specific urine-borne volatile members of human scent interacting with the materials of collapsed dwellings. 

> The experimental setup was used to investigate the permeation properties of two very promising urine-borne species, 2-heptanone and n-octanal

> It should be noted that the selected volatiles, 2-heptanone and n-octanal, are also of particular interest for the mammalian semiochemical communication

Preliminary Investigation of Permeation Profiles of Selected Head-Space Urine Volatiles (2-Heptanone, n-Octanal) Using IMS
P. Mochalski  Chromatographia (2012) 75:41–46

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