> What was the behavioral assay they used? Did they test other substances too?

Hi Kristina! 

Hope you are well.  Here's a list of the main substances


Control
Triethyl citrate solvent. Odourless. 


Floral odours

2-Phenylethanol (Common floral compound, inc. rose)

Lavender (Lavender odour simplified to its two main components)

Linalool (Common floral compound inc. lavender)

Linalyl acetate (Common floral compound inc. lavender)

R-(+)-Limonene (Common floral compound)


Plant odours

Praescent Pr 0.03% Cis-3-hexanol.0.03% trans-2-hexenal.0.015% a-pinene in TEC (Green odour. Decreases the noxious effects of chronic stress on mice and humans)

b-Caryophyllene (Found in many essentials oils e.g., clove, rosemary)


Pheromones

Citral (Main component of the Nasanov pheromone, attractant)

Iso-amyl acetate (Main component of the SAP)

Sting alarm pheromone 30 Stings crushed in 500 ml TEC (Complete alarm pheromone extracted from the sting)



Procedure

To investigate honeybee aggression in a controlled environment,
we developed a novel assay in which individual or small groups of
bees are confronted with a moving, dark target (a rotating
dummy) inside a cylindrical arena (144 cm) into which various
odours can be released via an automated olfactometer (Fig. 1a).
Honeybees involved in colony defence (guards and soldiers) were
selected from natural hives by briefly waving a black feather in
front of the colony entrance and collecting the bees attacking
the feather. After a short cold anaesthesia and at least 15 min of
recuperation, the bees were tested for their aggressive behaviour
towards the target in the arena for 3 min in the presence of
different odours. Aggressiveness was measured as the percentage
of trials during which at least one bee attempted to sting the dummy.

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