STUDIES IN THE MODE OF ACTION OF ROYAL JELLY IN HONEYBEE DEVELOPMENT: III. THE EFFECT OF EXPERIMENTAL VARIATION IN DIET ON GROWTH AND METABOLISM OF HONEYBEE LARVAE

Abstract

Norms were established for respiration, growth, and tissue composition of 0- to 72-hour-old female honeybee larvae reared in the laboratory on natural royal jelly and worker jelly diets. The worker jelly diet was then altered experimentally in the direction of royal jelly through additions of sugar and certain water-soluble acids of unknown structure extracted from royal jelly, but present in the natural diets of larvae of both female castes. In general, developmental norms were shifted in the direction of the norms of larvae fed royal jelly, but the changes were not fully co-ordinated. The added acids were strongly growth inhibitory. A high inverse association between the total water-soluble acid content of the diet and larval weight suggested that the acids may represent a nutritional growth-regulating mechanism. The evidence indicates that nutrient balance is significant in the early development of the dichotomy between female castes, and that no single constituent determines the ultimate development of either caste.