Changes with age in queen honey bee (Apis mellifera) head chemical constituents (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

Head chemical constituents were recorded from queen bees Apis mellifera at five ages between 7 and 35 days to determine changes in constituent levels with increasing age. The presence of sperm in the spermatheca of 7 and 14 day old queens was recorded to identify relationships between head chemical constituents in mated and unmated queens. Twelve chemical constituents were identified in amounts > 0.05 g/queen from head extracts of queen honey bees: 7-hydroxyoctanoic acid (7-HO); 8-hydroxyoctanoic acid (8-HO); 9-oxo-2(E)-decenoic acid (9-ODA); (R,S)-9-hydroxydecanoic acid (9-HDAA); (R,S)-9-hydroxy-2(E)-decenoic acid (9-HDA); 10-hydroxydecanoic acid (10-HDAA); 10-hydroxy-2(E)-decenoic acid (10-HDA); 4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenethanol (HVA); methyl 4-hydroxybenzoate (HOB); 4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzenepropanoic acid, hydroferulic acid (HFA). The most notable aspect of chemical constituent levels was the large variation between individual queen bees at each age, with the variation still large even when constituents were considered as proportions of the blend obtained from each queen. Non-mated 7 day old queens had higher average levels of 9-HDA (P < 0.05) and 9-ODA and 10-HDA (P < 0.10) than mated 7 day old queens.