Honeybee nestmate recognition: Effects of queen fecal pheromones

Previous work has shown that queen honeybees,Apis mellifera, produce waxy esters composed of 8-14 carbon acids and 6-14 carbon alcohols in their feces. We tested these esters for effects on nestmate recognition; 11 of the 12 esters tested significantly modified the recognition characteristics of worker honeybees. Pairwise tests showed that workers can discriminate between at least some pairs of queen esters and that workers can discriminate between a queen ester and hexadecane (another known nestmate recognition cue). These results suggest that a queen may use the esters to enable workers to recognize her or to scent-mark her colony.