Abstract
EXTRACTS of honeybee (Apis mellifera) queens inhibit the development of supplementary reproductives in the termite, Kalotermes flavicollis1. Similarly, extracts of a whole queen of the termite, Odontotermes genus2, and queen heads of O. assmuthi inhibit queen rearing by workers of A. mellifera2 and A. cerana (unpublished work of A. S. et al.) and also development of the workers' ovaries of these species. These observations indicate that the “queen substance” of honeybees and termites exhibits reciprocal activity, and suggest that the chemical nature of the queen substance of termites may be 9-oxodec-trans-2-enoic acid of A. mellifera3, A. cerana, A. dorsata4,5 and A. florea5 or a similar substance; but the queens of termites have not yet been unequivocally shown to contain queen substance. We have made extracts of physogastric queen heads of the mound-building termite, O. assmuthi, and have analysed these extracts qualitatively for queen substance.
Similar content being viewed by others
Article PDF
References
Hrdý, I., Novák, V. J. A., and Skrobal, D., The Ontogeny of Insects (Acta Symposie de Evolutione Insectorum 172) Prague, 1959).
Butler, C. G., Z. Bienenforsch., 8, 143 (1965).
Butler, C. G., Callow, R. K., and Johnston, N. C., Proc. Roy. Soc., B, 155, 417 (1961).
Shearer, D. A., Boch, R., Morse, R. A., and Laigo, F. M., J. Insect Physiol., 16, 1437 (1970).
Sannasi, A., and Sundara Rajulu, G., Life Sci., 10, 195 (1971).
Gary, N. E., Science, 136, 773 (1962).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
SANNASI, A., GEORGE, C. Termite Queen Substance: 9-Oxodec-trans-2-enoic Acid. Nature 237, 457 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1038/237457a0
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/237457a0
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.