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Effects Of Dietary Precursors To Biogenic Amines On The Behavioural Response From Groups Of Caged Worker Honey Bees (Apis Mellifera) To The Alarm Pheromone Component Isopentyl Acetate, Jeffrey W. Harris, Joseph Woodring

Entomology Papers from Other Sources

The sound or `buzzing response' from groups of fifteen worker honey bees, Apis mellifera L., to the presentation of isopentyl acetate, an alarm pheromone component, was recorded through a microphone connected via a digital±analogue converter into a computer. The effects of ingested biogenic amine precursors 5-hydroxytryptophan, L-DOPA and tryptophan were tested on three variables measurable from the sound traces: onset of the buzzing response after presentation of the pheromone stimulus, the duration of the buzzing event, and the maximal sound frequency produced during the buzzing event. Bees fed high doses of 5-hydroxytrytophan were found to react significantly more slowly and …