Dopamine (DA), one of the biogenic amines, has been suggested to regulate the motor activities of various animals. In honey bees, it has been reported to promote locomotor activity in queens, workers, and males, and to regulate the flight activity of workers and males. The role of DA in the flight activity of queens, however, has not yet been investigated. In this study, we tested the roles of DA in the flight activity of virgin queens. We first injected the DA receptor antagonist flupenthixol (10−2 M or 10−3 M) into the abdomens of 6-day-old virgin queens and measured the time to flight initiation. The same experiment was performed in workers, to confirm previous findings and compare them to the virgin queens. We then injected 10−2 M flupenthixol into the queens and quantified their flight activity using a flight mill. The workers were deemed unsuitable for this round of experimentation. In both queens and workers, flupenthixol injection significantly delayed flight initiation. In flight mill experiments, flupenthixol decreased the flight performance of the queens in terms of distance, duration, and velocity. These results suggest the involvement of DA in the flight activity of virgin queens and workers, and indicate that DA is a key neuroactive substance in motor system activation with conserved effects among honey bee queens, workers, and males.

中文翻译：

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蜜蜂 (Apis mellifera) Virgin Queens and Workers 中多巴胺受体拮抗剂对飞行活动的抑制

多巴胺 (DA) 是一种生物胺，已被建议调节各种动物的运动活动。据报道，在蜜蜂中，可以促进蜂王、工蜂和雄蜂的运动活动，并调节工蜂和雄蜂的飞行活动。然而，DA 在蜂王飞行活动中的作用尚未得到研究。在这项研究中，我们测试了 DA 在处女皇后飞行活动中的作用。我们首先将 DA 受体拮抗剂氟哌噻吨（10-2 M 或 10-3 M）注射到 6 天大的处女皇后的腹部，并测量了飞行开始的时间。在工蚁身上进行了同样的实验，以确认先前的发现并将它们与处女皇后进行比较。然后我们将 10-2 M 氟哌噻吨注射到蜂王体内，并使用飞行磨机量化它们的飞行活动。工人被认为不适合这一轮试验。在蚁后和工蚁中，注射氟哌噻吨都显着延迟了飞行开始。在飞行磨实验中，氟哌噻吨降低了蜂王在距离、持续时间和速度方面的飞行性能。这些结果表明 DA 参与了处女蜂王和工蜂的飞行活动，并表明 DA 是运动系统激活的关键神经活性物质，在蜜蜂蜂王、工蜂和雄蜂中具有保守作用。