> Has there been a study on the distribution of queen substance in crowded compared with uncrowded colonies?

Butler (1960) has demonstrated that queens in swarms from crowded colonies contain no less queen substance than queens in nonswarming colonies. Assuming that the rate of release of queen substance by a queen is proportional to the amount of queen substance extractable from the queen, it thus appears that signal production does not change with increasing crowding. Butler also tested for a difference in inhibitory response to fixed amounts of queen substance between workers from swarming and nonswarming colonies and found no difference. This suggests that the inhibitory power of queen substance does not decline in crowded colonies.

"Queen Substance Dispersal by Messenger Workers in Honeybee Colonies" by Thomas D. Seeley
Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 5, 391 415 (1979)

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