Role of hydrocarbons in egg recognition in the honeybee

Despite worker-laid and queen-laid honeybee eggs having significantly different hydrocarbon profiles, bioassays and chemical supplementation studies show that changing the hydrocarbon profile does not affect egg identity. Furthermore, full-sized eggs that are tested just before being laid or just after being laid have similar hydrocarbon patterns but are treated differently in egg-discrimination bioassays with only the laid eggs surviving. This suggests that hydrocarbons play no role in the egg-recognition system in honeybees.