GERANIOL, EVEN BEES PRODUCE IT !
Have you ever wondered how bees communicate with each other? Of course, we are not talking here about deciphering the “buzzing” of bees, but rather about Nasonov’s gland and geraniol! You will discover through this blog what is the Nasonov gland, the main component of the pheromone that the gland produces as well as some of its functions. You will see, these little bees are much more cunning than it seems !
THE GERANIOL
Even bees produce them !
Do you know how bees communicate with each other ?
The Nasanov gland, a crucial gland in the life of the colony!
in the life of the colony !
This gland does not exist in the male or queen. Located on the dorsal side of the abdomen of worker abdomen of worker bees, the Nasonov gland is used to communicate information to the group
(food, orientation, recruitment). The bees will disperse their own pheromones in front of the hive entrance, so the bees are said to be “beating the bees”.
The Nasonov gland produces a pheromone of 7 compounds of which the main component is GERANIOL ! The scent of the whole is slightly lemony and the older the bee gets, the more pheromones it produces !
What is the purpose of the Nasanov gland ?
1. FORAGING MARKINGS
The Nasonov gland is used to orientate the water carriers. As water lacks a characteristic scent, the scouts mark the supply site with their Nasonov glands, to orientate the water-carrying bees. More rarely, the Nasonov gland is also used to mark flowers and recruit foragers to food sources.
2. ORIENTATION FUNCTION
The pheromones of the workers act to facilitate the orientation of the group to the new nesting site. As soon as they arrive at the new nest, the first scouts
begin to emit their markings to orient the rest of the swarm.
3. RECRUITMENT FUNCTION
The Nasonov gland also plays an important role within the colony by allowing individual workers to campaign for special larvae to be raised to become queens.
Located close to our production facilities, the Breyner beehives are part of our green protection approach !