title: The cephalic labial gland secretions of two socially parasitic bumblebees Bombus hyperboreus (Alpinobombus) and Bombus inexspectatus (Thoracobombus) question their inquiline strategy.
abstract: Social parasitic Hymenopterans have evolved morphological, chemical, and behavioral adaptations to overcome the sophisticated recognition and defense systems of their social host to invade host nests and exploit their worker force. In bumblebees, social parasitism appeared in at least 3 subgenera independently: in the subgenus Psithyrus consisting entirely of parasitic species, in the subgenus Alpinobombus with Bombus hyperboreus, and in the subgenus Thoracobombus with B. inexspectatus. Cuckoo bumblebee males utilize species-specific cephalic labial gland secretions for mating purposes that can impact their inquiline strategy. We performed cephalic labial gland secretions in B. hyperboreus, B. inexspectatus and their hosts. Males of both parasitic species exhibited high species specific levels of cephalic gland secretions, including different main compounds. Our results showed no chemical mimicry in the cephalic gland secretions between inquilines and their host and we did not identify the repellent compounds already known in other cuckoo bumblebees.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Zoology, Research institute of Biosciences, University of Mons, Mons, Belgium.
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Brasero
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Zoology, Research institute of Biosciences, University of Mons, Mons, Belgium.
authors.forename: Baptiste
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Martinet
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Zoology, Research institute of Biosciences, University of Mons, Mons, Belgium.|Research Unit Animal and Functionalities of Animal Products (URAFPA), University of Lorraine-INRA, Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy, France.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lecocq
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, the Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA.
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lhomme
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Science, Department of Zoology, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, Czech Republic.|Biology Centre of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, v.v.i., Institute of Entomology, České Budějovice, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Biella
authors.affiliation: Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Prague, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Irena
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Valterová
authors.affiliation: Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Prague, Czech Republic.|Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences, Department of Sustainable Technologies, Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Klára
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Urbanová
authors.affiliation: Department of Mathematics, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy.
authors.forename: Maurizio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cornalba
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, the Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA.
authors.forename: Heather
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hines
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Zoology, Research institute of Biosciences, University of Mons, Mons, Belgium.
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rasmont
mesh_terms: D000819:Animal Communication; D000818:Animals; D001516:Bees / Q000737:chemistry*; D005088:Exocrine Glands / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D012919:Social Behavior
keywords: Bombus hyperboreus; Bombus inexspectatus; bumblebees; cephalic labial gland secretions; inquiline strategy; social parasitism