Naked Science Forum
Life Sciences => Plant Sciences, Zoology & Evolution => Topic started by: katieHaylor on 27/01/2021 14:39:03
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Ethan asks:
Can bee pheromones be mimicked? In other words, could you create an artificial queen pheromone?
What do you think?
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Yes.
Pheromones are composed of small (often simple) molecules (they need to be small to be adequately distributed in the air), so they can be made in a lab. The molecules made in a lab are identical to the ones made by insects (though if the insect is creating a mixture of different molecules, it could be hard to replicate the precise mixture).
There was a chemistry group at the university I attended for undergraduate that had supposedly used a caged moth as a detector for the gas chromatograph they used for isolating and identifying moth pheromones. (they would inject an extract of the female moth onto the column, which would then separate the compounds as they passed through, letting them out one at a time. When the male moth went berserk, they knew that the compound coming off at that instant was a compound of interest.) I imagine similar techniques could be used for bees.
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Yes.
Pheromones are composed of small (often simple) molecules (they need to be small to be adequately distributed in the air), so they can be made in a lab. The molecules made in a lab are identical to the ones made by insects (though if the insect is creating a mixture of different molecules, it could be hard to replicate the precise mixture).
There was a chemistry group at the university I attended for undergraduate that had supposedly used a caged moth as a detector for the gas chromatograph they used for isolating and identifying moth pheromones. (they would inject an extract of the female moth onto the column, which would then separate the compounds as they passed through, letting them out one at a time. When the male moth went berserk, they knew that the compound coming off at that instant was a compound of interest.) I imagine similar techniques could be used for bees.
Yes, instead of relying on bees to fertilise plants, couldn't we just spray the plants with pheromones extracted from bees. The pheromones would have been analysed. Then chemically reproduced on a massive industrial scale.
The bees wouldn't be needed any more.
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Yes.
Pheromones are composed of small (often simple) molecules (they need to be small to be adequately distributed in the air), so they can be made in a lab. The molecules made in a lab are identical to the ones made by insects (though if the insect is creating a mixture of different molecules, it could be hard to replicate the precise mixture).
There was a chemistry group at the university I attended for undergraduate that had supposedly used a caged moth as a detector for the gas chromatograph they used for isolating and identifying moth pheromones. (they would inject an extract of the female moth onto the column, which would then separate the compounds as they passed through, letting them out one at a time. When the male moth went berserk, they knew that the compound coming off at that instant was a compound of interest.) I imagine similar techniques could be used for bees.
Yes, instead of relying on bees to fertilise plants, couldn't we just spray the plants with pheromones extracted from bees. The pheromones would have been analysed. Then chemically reproduced on a massive industrial scale.
The bees wouldn't be needed any more.
No. I think we may need to have a talk about the birds and the bees...
Bee pheromones have no direct role in plant fertilization (allowing bees to communicate with each other could be considered an indirect role). Bees and other pollinators (flies, butterflies, birds, bats, etc.) get covered in pollen while they extract nectar from the flower. The pollen contains plant gametes, which can then be transferred to another flower by the pollen-laden bee, and from there the gametes can fertilize the flower. (roughly) you should look that up!
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Yes.
Pheromones are composed of small (often simple) molecules (they need to be small to be adequately distributed in the air), so they can be made in a lab. The molecules made in a lab are identical to the ones made by insects (though if the insect is creating a mixture of different molecules, it could be hard to replicate the precise mixture).
There was a chemistry group at the university I attended for undergraduate that had supposedly used a caged moth as a detector for the gas chromatograph they used for isolating and identifying moth pheromones. (they would inject an extract of the female moth onto the column, which would then separate the compounds as they passed through, letting them out one at a time. When the male moth went berserk, they knew that the compound coming off at that instant was a compound of interest.) I imagine similar techniques could be used for bees.
Yes, instead of relying on bees to fertilise plants, couldn't we just spray the plants with pheromones extracted from bees. The pheromones would have been analysed. Then chemically reproduced on a massive industrial scale.
The bees wouldn't be needed any more.
No. I think we may need to have a talk about the birds and the bees...
Bee pheromones have no direct role in plant fertilization (allowing bees to communicate with each other could be considered an indirect role). Bees and other pollinators (flies, butterflies, birds, bats, etc.) get covered in pollen while they extract nectar from the flower. The pollen contains plant gametes, which can then be transferred to another flower by the pollen-laden bee, and from there the gametes can fertilize the flower. (roughly) you should look that up!
Yes, you're right - I got mislead by the "pheromone" thing! What matters is the pollen. Which the bees transfer.
But - couldn't pollen be manufactured artificially? Then sprayed on the plants to induce fertilisation.
In a similar way that we spray insecticides on plants?