Lack of Phytochemical Makes a Honeybee Queen (IMAGE)

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

Lack of Phytochemical Makes a Honeybee Queen

Caption

Worker honey bees (Apis mellifera) on a pollen comb. Pollen is mixed with honey and processed into beebread, which is fed to worker-destined larvae. A phytochemical in beebread alters gene expression patterns and contributes to determining whether female larvae become queens or workers. This material relates to a paper that appeared in the Aug. 28, 2015, issue of Science, published by AAAS. The paper, by W. Mao at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in Urbana, IL, and colleagues was titled, 'A dietary phytochemical alters caste-associated gene expression in honey bees.'

Credit

[Credit: Photograph by Terry Harrison]

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