...i thought the term "pheromone" specifically referred to a sent produced by an animal.

certainly comb can have a smell, and is produced by the bees...but is this a pheromone?  is the smell of empty comb really distinct from that of comb with something in it? (well, there is less surface area in used comb for sure...but with no way to compare the total amount of comb to the empty portion, i'm not sure how that helps).  ...or is it a lack of other pheromones (brood, eggs, nursebees inspecting cells, etc) that does the triggering?

in short, what is "empty comb pheromone" and how does it function?

deknow

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