Discrimination of Familiar and Foreign Queens by Honey Bee Swarms1

Abstract

A swarm of honey bees, Apis mellifera, which has lost its queen is capable of finding and rejoining her in a short period of time. When given a choice, workers in a swarm prefer their own to a foreign queen. Accurate discrimination is contingent upon antennal and/or proboscal contact with both queens. Such discrimination appears to be based on the perception of small differences in hive odors. Hive odors are persistent substances which are adsorbed to the body surfaces of the queens. Upon finding and recognizing their own queen, the workers feed her and disperse Nassanoff pheromone, thus attracting other searchers. Upon finding and identifying a foreign queen, the workers react aggressively towards her, and signal her rejection by ‘marking’ her with alarm pheromones.