Rearing of Honeybee Larvae on Royal Jelly in the Laboratory

Abstract

Worker larvae, about 36 hours old, were fed in a constant temperature chamber with variously preserved royal jelly. Normal queens, intermediary individuals and worker-like bees were produced, depending on the type of the royal jelly fed. The author concluded that there is a substance or substances in royal jelly that initiates or controls differentiation of queens, and that at least some essential part of it is either highly labile or is not available to larvae after the jelly has been stored for a time.