A pheromone trap to catch queen bees

The University of Sydney

  • Project code: PRJ-007765

  • Project stage: Closed

  • Project start date: Monday, June 25, 2012

  • Project completion date: Saturday, March 31, 2018

  • National Priority: HBE-Improve hive productivity with innovative pest and disease control, feeding, breeding, and automation solutions

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Summary

The project will have three phases.
Phase 1. Confirm the results of Pflugfelder and Koeniger and show that an extract of the queen’s abdominal tergites can attract a queen over a distance of 50 cm. Construct a prototype trap based on a queen mailing cage, a bee escape and a queen excluder strip. Bait the trap with a tergal gland extract and demonstrate its efficacy in catching laying queens in nuclei and full strength colonies.
Phase 2. Identify the biologically active compound using HPLC.
Phase 3. Synthesize (or buy off-the-shelf) the active compound(s), and test the efficacy of the trap when baited with the pheromone rather than an extract.

Program

Honey Bee

Research Organisation

The University of Sydney

Objective Summary

To identify the pheromone that attracts queens so that they fight
To develop a queen trap that utilizes the pheromone
To find an industry partner to develop the trap for commercial release