The summary finding below is somewhat novel in terms of the longevity of the queen. I also think that beekeepers, in general, underappreciate the combined role of vBP, or E-β-Ocimene, and BEP in a colony's function.  This may seem like an exceedingly small contribution to some, but isn't it the point of Bee-L to nuance our understanding?  


>The installation of packages onto brood obviously should provide colonies with a head-start in growth, productivity, and longevity. What is surprising in our findings is that this seems to translate to the longevity of the queen as well. The presence of brood sensu stricto should elicit no effect on intrinsic drivers of mortality, and brood was provided independent of any knowledge of the queen’s reproductive quality. Therefore, the decrease in queen supersedure must be due to a change in worker response to the queen as a result of the presence of brood. Previous research with BEP suggests this to be the case; simulated packages treated with brood pheromone had queens that laid more eggs, were fed for longer, and workers that spent more time preparing cells for larval rearing (Sagili & Pankiw, 2009). This suggests an effect of brood signals on queen behaviors either directly or through changes in worker tending efforts ultimately promoting the very behaviors hypothesized to generate the signals that prevent her supersedure.

Bill Hesbach
Cheshire CT

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