Eine einfache Methode zur Gewinnung von Exuvialflüssigkeit bei der Honigbiene (Apis mellifica L.)

Summary

A simple method is described for obtaining the ecdysial fluid of the honeybee. For this purpose, full-grown worker and drone larvae are taken out of the cells and their cocoons as young prepupae shortly after termination of spinning. They are raised at a temperature of 34.5° to 35° C. The secretion of the moulting fluid begins 12 to 24 h later in all larvae which are ready to pupate. In larvae without a cocoon, the casting of the old cuticle does often not occur, or is incomplete. The secretion gathers abundantly in the body region under the larval skin and can be sucked off without difficulty with fine glass pipettes in a completely pure state for the biochemical analysis.