Detection and interpretation of chemical cues is essential for Varroa destructor Anderson and Trueman, an important parasite of honey bees (Apis mellifera L.), to complete its life cycle. We collected volatiles from honey bee brood at various developmental stages and screened for V. destructor electrophysiological responses to these with gas chromatography-linked electrotarsal detection. Volatile collections contained several methyl-alkanes that evoked electrophysiological responses from V. destructor. Moreover, odors in honey bee colonies that regulate honey bee colony structure and function were also detected by V. destructor. Collections from mid- to late-stage larvae had detectable levels of low-volatility odors identified as components of the honey bee brood pheromone and branched alkanes likely originating from brood cuticle. Among these, several mid- to heavy-molecular weight compounds elicited high proportional electrophysiological responses by V. destructor relative to their abundance but could not be identified using chemical standards of previously documented honey bee brood odors. We suggest further investigation of these unknown volatiles and future behavioral assays to determine attractiveness/repellency (valence) of those identified through chemical standards.

中文翻译：

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Varroa破坏螨对蜜蜂（Apis mellifera）菌落挥发物的电生理反应。

化学提示的检测和解释对于Varroa破坏者Anderson和Trueman（蜜蜂的重要寄生虫）完成生命周期至关重要。我们在不同发育阶段从蜜蜂育种中收集了挥发物，并通过气相色谱联用电睑板检测法筛选了V.析构物对它们的电生理反应。挥发性集合包含了几甲烷烃是从诱发电生理反应V.析构函数。此外，还通过V. destructor检测了调节蜂群结构和功能的蜂群气味。。从中后期到幼虫的收集物均具有可检测水平的低挥发性气味，这些气味被确定为蜜蜂育苗信息素和可能源自育雏表皮的支链烷烃的成分。其中，几种中分子量到重分子量的化合物通过V. destructor引起相对于它们丰度的高比例电生理反应，但是不能使用先前记录的蜜蜂育成气味的化学标准来鉴定。我们建议对这些未知挥发物进行进一步研究，并通过未来的行为分析来确定通过化学标准物鉴定出的那些的吸引力/排斥力（价）。