>
>Date: Tue, 2 Dec 2003 07:55:00 -0500
>From: James Fischer <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Re: Seasonal Bee Size
>
>Robin said:
>
> > According to Snodgrass, Weaver in 1955 fed larvae
> > unlimited brood food but failed to produce queens.
>
>Is the most recent work in that area as old as 1955?
There is newer work on this. My mentor Al Dietz did some:
AUTHOR: Dietz, A.
ARTICLE TITLE: The Influence Of Environmental And Nutritional Factors On
Growth And Caste Determination Of Female Honey Bees.
JOURNAL TITLE: Diss. Abs., Sect. B. 27(12) Pt.1:4599-4600
YEAR OF PUBLICATION: 1967
NOTES:
KEYWORDS: Development Metamorphosis Methods Caste
AUTHOR: Dietz, A.; Lambremont, E. N.
ARTICLE TITLE: Caste Determination In Honey Bees. II. Food Consumption Of
Individual Honey Bee Larvae, Determined With 32p-Labeled Royal Jelly.
JOURNAL TITLE: Ann. Ent. Soc. Amer. 63(5):1342-1345, Tables, Refs.
YEAR OF PUBLICATION: 1970
NOTES: 'Newly Emerged Honey Bee Larvae Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera;
Apidae), Were Reared In The Laboratory On 32p-Labeled Royal Jelly. The
Resulting Adults Were Classified As Workers, Intermediates, Or Queens,
Depending On Their Morphological Caste Characters. Larvae Destined To
Become Queens Ate 13% More Food Than Worker Larvae During The First 3 Days
Of Larval Life. This Difference Increased To About 40, After 6 Days Of
Larval Life. The Mean Rate Of Ingestion Was 8% Less In Intermediates As
Compared To Queen Larvae During The First 3 Days After Hatching, And 16%
Less After 6 Days Of Larval Life. Queen Larvae Consumed An Average Of 5%
More Royal Jelly Than Intermediates, And 19% More Than Workers. The Results
Are Discussed In Relation To The Known Differences In Growth Rates Of The
Queen-Worker Castes.' Part I Appears In International Apiculture Congress,
Proc., College Park, 21:470; 1967.
KEYWORDS: Larva Behavior Food
and so did Yaacov Lensky. His work had to do with sugars in the food and
hormonal balance as we now know about the various kinds of juvenile hormone
and the relationship between them and the adult hormone, ecdysone.
Contemporary work is going on by Anna Rachinsky:
http://www.d.umn.edu/~lshannon/Biology_2002/faculty/Rachinsky_page.htm
In highly eusocial Hymenoptera such as the honeybee Apis mellifera, we find
two specialized morphs - or castes - within the female sex: queen and
worker. There is no genetic difference involved in caste determination. The
developmental pathway of a female larva is determined solely by the
composition of the diet that is provided during critical stages of
development. The differences in diet affect the endocrine system of a
honeybee larva, resulting in caste-specific differences in hormone titers,
which then trigger caste-specific differentiation of target tissues.
Juvenile hormone (JH) has been identified as the prime endogenous signal
for the induction of queen development in honeybees. I am interested in
several aspects of JH biosynthesis regulation and in effects that JH has on
caste-specific tissue differentiation.
You can also see references at the bee biology bibliography by searching
for caste determination. <http://alembic.nal.usda.gov:8088/>
Malcolm T. Sanford
Professor Emeritus, University of Florida
http://beeactor.vze.com
352-336-9744 or 392-1801 x 150
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