Nature 195, 1018 - 1020 (08 September 1962); doi:10.1038/1951018b0

Identification of Iso-Amyl Acetate as an Active Component in the Sting Pheromone of the Honey Bee

R. BOCH, D. A. SHEARER & B. C. STONE

Entomology Research Institute,
Analytical Chemistry Research Service, Canada Department of Agriculture, Ottawa.

THE sting of the honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) carries volatile substances which incite bees to aggression. This was first demonstrated by Huber¹, who elicited attacks by the guard bees when he placed freshly excised stings or the odour of stings near the hive entrance. Free² found that cotton balls containing stings were more frequently stung than control balls.

1. Huber, F. , Nouvelles observations sur les abeilles, 2 (1814). Trans. Amer. Bee J., Hamilton, Ill., (1926).
2. Free, J. B. , Animal Behaviour, 9, 193 (1961). | Article |
3. Karlson, P. , and Butenandt, A. , Ann. Rev. Entomol., 4, 39 (1959). | Article | ISI |