We
all know about the honeybee's potent sting, but did you know they can
also bite? Unlike the sting, a honeybee's mandibles are too weak to
pierce human skin - but chemicals involved in the bite may have a use as
a new local anaesthetic.
The fact that honeybees can bite is
not new knowledge, but it was previously believed to be just part of
grooming behaviour and a way of removing parasites. The
se
pests (such as varroa mites and wax moth larvae) can have a disastrous
effect on a hive's strength and leave bees more susceptible to viruses
and diseases. It had been assumed that pests thrown outside the hive
after removal were dead, but very recent observation revealed they
started moving again after a short while.
The stunning
chemical in the bees' bite (known as 2-heptanone) was previously thought
to be an alarm pheromone. According to Dr. Papachristoforou (Aristotle
University of Thessaloniki, and one of the authors of the paper) this
explanation was never quite satisfactory - 2-heptanone loses its potency
fast, and honeybees have another better chemical alarm system. Further
experiments have confirmed 2-heptatone's effectiveness as an
anaesthetic, hinting at a viable alternative to treatments such as
lidocaine (a local anaesthetic that can cause adverse reactions in some
people).
"The potential implications of this new research for
honey-bees and their interactions with varroa mites and wax moth larvae
will need to be looked at in more detail, but the initial results look
really interesting," said Giles Budge (National Bee Unit, UK). "I think
it is amazing that despite all the years of intensive study there are
still massive discoveries to be made about fundamental honey-bee
physiology such as the ability to paralyse small insects and mites."
Photo credit: Charles Krebs (2006).
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/
Dr. Papachristoforou and his team's paper: http://www.plosone.org/
We
all know about the honeybee's potent sting, but did you know they can
also bite? Unlike the sting, a honeybee's mandibles are too weak to
pierce human skin - but chemicals involved in the bite may have a use as
a new local anaesthetic.
The fact that honeybees can bite is not new knowledge, but it was previously believed to be just part of grooming behaviour and a way of removing parasites. The
The fact that honeybees can bite is not new knowledge, but it was previously believed to be just part of grooming behaviour and a way of removing parasites. The
se
pests (such as varroa mites and wax moth larvae) can have a disastrous
effect on a hive's strength and leave bees more susceptible to viruses
and diseases. It had been assumed that pests thrown outside the hive
after removal were dead, but very recent observation revealed they
started moving again after a short while.
The stunning chemical in the bees' bite (known as 2-heptanone) was previously thought to be an alarm pheromone. According to Dr. Papachristoforou (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, and one of the authors of the paper) this explanation was never quite satisfactory - 2-heptanone loses its potency fast, and honeybees have another better chemical alarm system. Further experiments have confirmed 2-heptatone's effectiveness as an anaesthetic, hinting at a viable alternative to treatments such as lidocaine (a local anaesthetic that can cause adverse reactions in some people).
"The potential implications of this new research for honey-bees and their interactions with varroa mites and wax moth larvae will need to be looked at in more detail, but the initial results look really interesting," said Giles Budge (National Bee Unit, UK). "I think it is amazing that despite all the years of intensive study there are still massive discoveries to be made about fundamental honey-bee physiology such as the ability to paralyse small insects and mites."
Photo credit: Charles Krebs (2006).
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/
Dr. Papachristoforou and his team's paper: http://www.plosone.org/
The stunning chemical in the bees' bite (known as 2-heptanone) was previously thought to be an alarm pheromone. According to Dr. Papachristoforou (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, and one of the authors of the paper) this explanation was never quite satisfactory - 2-heptanone loses its potency fast, and honeybees have another better chemical alarm system. Further experiments have confirmed 2-heptatone's effectiveness as an anaesthetic, hinting at a viable alternative to treatments such as lidocaine (a local anaesthetic that can cause adverse reactions in some people).
"The potential implications of this new research for honey-bees and their interactions with varroa mites and wax moth larvae will need to be looked at in more detail, but the initial results look really interesting," said Giles Budge (National Bee Unit, UK). "I think it is amazing that despite all the years of intensive study there are still massive discoveries to be made about fundamental honey-bee physiology such as the ability to paralyse small insects and mites."
Photo credit: Charles Krebs (2006).
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/
Dr. Papachristoforou and his team's paper: http://www.plosone.org/
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