Function of ilp2 in honey bee larvae

Nutrient signals play very important roles in queen and worker caste development in the honey bee. It has been suggested that insulin peptides (ilps) were involved in caste development in larvae. In this study, we knocked down ilp2 in larvae and monitored the larvae development and physiology. We found ilp2 was successfully down regulated by dsRNA. Surprisingly, glucose and trehalose titers were not altered by ilp2 knockdown. There was no effect of ilp2 gene knockdown on total mortality and body mass of adult bees. However, the ovary size was significantly reduced by dsRNA. Our study demonstrated that the function of ilp2 in the differentiation of ovary size.