Precocene II is no anti-juvenile hormone in the honey bee, apis mellifera

Abstract

The effect of precocene II on development of the honey bee, Apis mellifera, was studied in vitro. Oneto two-day-old worker larvae (body weight 0.5 — 1.0 mg) were removed from the colonies, reared on royal jelly-yeast extract, and after 24 h were topically applied with different amounts (5 - 75 μg/larva) of precocene II. Toxicity was observed only with precocene doses of 50 μg/larva and more. The larval weight-gains declined with the increase of doses. The acetone-treated control had better survival and weight-gain as compared to the no-treatment control. The larval and pupal periods in the treated larvae remained unchanged as compared to the controls. The possibility of precocene acting as an antifeedant is discussed. © 2015 Verlag der Zeitschrift für Naturforschung. © 1979, Walter de Gruyter. All rights reserved.