I tested the hypothesis that brood pheromone releases young bees into foraging. I placed into twelve colonies 3 distinguishing paint-marked cohorts of bees (1-3 days, 5-7 days, and 10-13 days). Colonies were equalized for number of bees, amount of food stores, larvae and, empty space. Six colonies were treated with 2000 larval equivalents of synthetic brood pheromone and six were controls. Treatments were applied when the youngest cohort was three days old and prior to the onset of foraging by the oldest cohort. Paint-marked individuals were captured at colony entrances as returning foragers. Forage choice categories were assigned according to resources returned. Brood pheromone significantly reduced the age of pollen foragers (ANOVA,p<0.0001), nectar foragers (ANOVA, p<0.01), and foragers return with both nectar and pollen (ANOVA, p<0.0001). Brood pheromone concurrently significantly increased the ratio of pollen to non-pollen foragers among the young foragers (Contingency table analysis, p<0.0001).
Species 1: Hymenoptera Apidae Apis mellifera (honey bee)
Keywords: pheromone, foraging behavior
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