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The mechanism of honey-bee queen piping

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Summary

Queens breathed continuously while they were piping, and were able to pipe with all spiracles except one blocked, so the sound could not have been produced by air entering or leaving the spiracles. It is produced by operating the flight motor without spreading the wings, and is radiated partly by the substratum, to which the vibrations are communicated by pressing the thorax against it.

Zusammenfassung

Königinnen atmeten während des Tütens ununterbrochen, und waren zum Tüten fähig, wenn alle Atemlöcher bis auf eines blockiert waren, so daß der Laut nicht durch Ein oder Austreten der Luft durch die Atemlöcher hervorgerufen sein konnte. Er wird erzeugt, indem der „flight motor” ohne das Ausbreiten der Flügel funktioniert, und teilweise durch das Substrat verbreitet, auf das die Schwingungen durch Anpressen des Thorax übertragen werden.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Rothamsted Experimental Station, Harpenden, Herts, Great Britain

    J. Simpson

Authors
  1. J. Simpson
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Additional information

Piping in English includes both “tüten” and “quaken” in German. Both sounds are produced in the same way but “quaken” is heard when the queen is in her cell (Armbruster, 1922).

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Simpson, J. The mechanism of honey-bee queen piping. Zeitschrift für vergleichende physiologie 48, 277–282 (1964). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00339456

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00339456

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