From the Daiana et al. paper > We found that the application of a sugar-enriched diet in combination with JH application onto 1st instar queen larvae produced higher-quality queens,....


In reading The Dark Side Of The Hive, the work of Asencot and Lensky was mentioned, which seems to tie in somehow to the Daiana paper from at least the sugar-enriched diet's role in queen development and possibly cast determination.  


>Female honeybee larvae reared on SRJ [stored royal jelly] supplemented with 198 mg [of fructose] and 38 mg [of glycose] food, an amount similar to that >of SRJ crystals, resulted in the emergence of adults as queens: (40%), intercastes (23%) and workers (37%). The importance of availability of soluble >sugars vs solid crystals in the larval food on the induction of “queenlines” is discussed.

>The effect of soluble sugars in stored royal jelly on the differentiation of female honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) larvae to queens
>Moshe Asencot Yaacov Lensky

> https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0020179088900169 (paywall link)




This is some recent work looking at plant microRNAs and the epigenetic effect on honey bee cast determination. It leaves one to consider a different perspective on pollination meaning does it happen both ways. Bees fertilize plants, and in turn, plants aid in the fertilization of bees via queen cast determination.

> Here we report that plant RNAs, particularly miRNAs, which are more enriched in beebread than in royal jelly, delay development and decrease body and ovary size in honeybees, thereby preventing larval differentiation into queens and inducing development into worker bees.


> Plant microRNAs in larval food regulate honeybee caste development
Kegan Zhu et al. 

> https://journals.plos.org/plosgenetics/article?id=10.1371/journal.pgen.1006946 (open source) 


Bill Hesbach
Cheshire CT

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