Quoted material for review purposes only:

Alerted honeybees recruit nest mates for defence of the hive using an alarm pheromone, which is produced by glands of the sting apparatus (Winston 1991). The principal active component of this pheromone is isoamyl acetate (IAA, also known as isopentyl acetate).

Understanding mechanisms underlying aggression in bees is of interest to scientists and beekeepers alike and is particularly relevant in areas where the highly aggressive Africanised bee [is present].

There are anecdotal reports of beekeepers that apply lavender oil on hands or gloves, which allegedly “calms” the bees and reduces stinging. This raises the question whether plant odours such as lavender could indeed be used to reduce aggressive behaviour in bees both in the short- and long-term.

The addition of the alarm pheromone component IAA to the dummy triggered the full behavioural sequence and led to stinging of the object, demonstrating the importance of olfactory cues in eliciting honeybee aggressive behaviour and confirming its well-established effect on honeybee aggression.

When plant odours were added to the Petri dish, they significantly reduced aggression towards the moving target treated with IAA. This effect was recorded for both lavender and Praescent. Praescent had a slightly stronger attenuating effect on aggression.

Although our study is only a first step into unravelling the complex olfactory mechanisms regulating honeybee aggression, it suggests an intriguing yet simple way to modulate aggressive behaviour in honeybees, namely the use of environmentally derived plant odours. These could be either applied on a person when handling bees or aggressive hives could be treated with plant odours.

van der Burg, N. M., Lavidis, N., Claudianos, C., & Reinhard, J. A novel assay to evaluate olfactory modulation of honeybee aggression. July 2014, Volume 45, Issue 4, pp 478-490,

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