User:Jurisar/Queen mandibular pheromone

Effects on Physiological Features
Research has indicated that queen mandibular pheromones were capable of altering the physiology of the worker bees. Research indicates that when reared larvae are not fed queen mandibular pheromones, they develop more ovarioles, larger mandibular glands, larger Dufour glands, and smaller hypopharyngeal glands, all traits commonly seen in queen bees. Similarly, Nasonov gland size has been shown to decrease in worker bees who were not fed the queen mandibular pheromones as larvae.

Beekeeping
Sometimes beekeepers re-queen their hives for various reasons. Some beekeepers place these now-unneeded queens in alcohol. The alcohol preserves the deceased queen and her pheromones. This "queen juice" can then be used as a lure in swarm traps. The dead queen is either placed in a swarm trap or a q-tip or cottonball dipped in the alcohol into a swarm trap. The alcohol evaporates, leaving the queen pheromone which may enhance the chances of a swarm moving into a trap.

Queen Pheromone Strips
Queen pheromone strips are a technology used to replicate the presence of a queen and act as a substitute for queenless colonies. These queen pheromone strips are imbued with queen mandibular pheromones. Being a cheaper alternative to actual queens, these strips are often used in research settings, serving as a substitute for the queen in research relating to the queen mandibular pheromones. Replicating the effects of queen mandibular pheromones, the strips and pheromones itself was shown to increase Ecdysteroid titers in bees exposed to the pheromone continuously. Likewise, use of queen pheromone strips has shown that queen mandibular pheromones are capable of affecting dopamine receptor genes (Amdop1 and Amdop3), in turn, influencing attracting to the pheromone as the worker bees age.