title: Methoprene does not affect juvenile hormone titers in honey bee (Apis mellifera) workers.
abstract: Methoprene, a juvenile hormone (JH) analog, is a widely used insecticide that also accelerates behavioral development in honey bees (Apis mellifera). JH regulates the transition from nursing to foraging in adult worker bees, and treatment with JH or methoprene have both been shown to induce precocious foraging. To determine how methoprene changes honey bee behavior, we compared JH titers of methoprene-treated and untreated bees. Behavioral observations confirmed that methoprene treatment significantly increased the number of precocious foragers in 3 out of 4 colonies. In only 1 out of 4 colonies, however, was there a significant difference in JH titers between the methoprene-treated and control bees. Further, in all 4 colonies, there was no significant differences in JH titers between precocious and normal-aged foragers. These results suggest that methoprene did not directly affect the endogenous JH secreted by corpora allata. Because methoprene caused early foraging without changing workers' JH titers, we conclude that methoprene most likely acts directly on the JH receptors as a substitute for JH.
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA.|Ecology, Evolutionary Biology and Behavior, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA.|BEACON Center for the Study of Evolution in Action, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA.
authors.forename: Zachary Y
authors.initials: ZY
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: High School Honors Science Program 2007, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA.
authors.forename: Stephanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA.
authors.forename: Kiheung
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ahn
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001516:Bees / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects*; D007605:Juvenile Hormones / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology; D008726:Methoprene / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D007605:Juvenile Hormones; D008726:Methoprene
keywords: behavioral development; juvenile hormone; juvenile hormone analog; methoprene; precocious foraging