Chemical communication and social regulation in the honey bees colony (apis mellifera L.) ; Communication chimique et régulations sociales dans la colonie d’abeilles (apis mellifera L.)

In the honeybee colony (Apis mellifera L.) studies of the chemical communication are essential to understand social regulations. In the honey bee colony more than 50 chemical substances with releaser and primer effects have been identified. Despite years of research on this type of communication, significant work remains to be done.In this thesis, the aim is to characterize the dynamics of a major pheromone: ethyl oleate (EO), which optimizes the balance between nurses and foragers in the colony. In addition, we initiated research on the queen and brood chemical communication in which only two pheromones have been identified in the colony.We have demonstrated that EO production by workers varies under different colony environment. EO production can also be modified by stress; honey bees parasitized by the Nosema spp. have abnormally high EO production. In addition, we identified that EO is transmitted from foragers to nurses by contact (cuticle and pollen).For the queen, our results indicate that the queen uses multiple redundant pheromones (QMP and other unknown compounds), that affect wax construction, retinue behaviour and worker ovary inhibition.For the brood we have identified a volatile pheromone E-ß-ocimene produced mostly by the young larvae to inhibit the development of workers ovaries and accelerate workers’behavioural maturation.With these studies we clarify some aspects of what is known about chemical communication in the honey bee colony. Then we try to explain the role of complexity and redundancy of pheromones in the honey bee colony by two theories ; La colonie d’abeille (Apis mellifera L.) est une société complexe où les individus interagissent entre eux, notamment par le biais de phéromones. L’étude de cette communication chimique est indispensable à la compréhension des régulations sociales mises en place dans la colonie. Chez l’abeille, plus de 50 substances chimiques avec des effets incitateurs ou modificateurs sur la colonie ont été identifiées. Malgré ces découvertes, de nombreux travaux ...