The small hive beetle (Aethina tumida Murray) is an invasive pest affecting honey bee colonies. The beetles are known to be attracted to volatiles from hive products and honey bees like Apis mellifera L. Previously we reported the presence of five major compounds from the volatile extracts of hive materials; ethyl linolenate and ethyl palmitate from pollen dough, oleamide and tetracosane in fermenting honey, and oleamide and 5-methyl-2-phenyl-1H-indole from A. mellifera worker bees. This study tested the attractiveness of the aforementioned five volatile organic compounds to small hive beetles (SHB) by Y-tube olfactometric bioassay. Ethyl linolenate was highly attractive to both male and female adults of SHB. Ethyl palmitate was attractive to SHB only at higher concentration (0.01–01 mg/ml). Interestingly, tetracosane, 5-methyl-2-phenyl-1H-indole and oleamide were repellent for SHB of both sexes, but ethyl linolenate and ethyl palmitate as components of honey bee brood pheromone attracted SHB. The results highlight that SHB differentially utilizes volatile chemicals from hive materials and honey bees as cues to locate honey bee hives.

小蜂房甲虫（Aethina tumida Murray）是一种侵害性害虫，影响蜜蜂的殖民地。已知甲虫被蜂巢产品和蜜蜂（如Apis mellifera L）的挥发物所吸引。先前，我们报道了从蜂巢材料的挥发物提取物中存在五种主要化合物的现象。亚麻酸乙酯和棕榈酸乙酯从花粉面团，油酰胺和在发酵蜂蜜二十四烷，和油酰胺和5-甲基-2-苯基-1H-吲哚从西方蜜蜂工蜂。这项研究通过Y型管嗅觉生物测定法测试了上述5种挥发性有机化合物对小蜂虫（SHB）的吸引力。亚油酸乙酯对SHB的成年男性和女性均极具吸引力。棕榈酸乙酯仅在较高浓度（0.01–01 mg / ml）时才对SHB具有吸引力。有趣的是，四氢呋喃，5-甲基-2-苯基-1H-吲哚和油酰胺对两性SHB具有驱避性，但是作为蜂巢信息素成分的亚油酸乙酯和棕榈酸乙酯吸引了SHB。结果表明，SHB不同地利用了蜂巢材料和蜜蜂的挥发性化学物质作为提示来定位蜜蜂蜂巢。