Quantitative Untersuchungen über das Vorkommen von Vitamin B6 bei den drei Kasten der Honigbiene, Apis mellifera / Explorations on Quantity of Vitamine B6 in the three Castes of Honey-Bee Apis mellifera
Royal jelly contains a three fold higher concentration of vitamin B6 than the larval food for workers or drones (♀ = 20,59 μg,♀= 7,34 μg, ♂ = 7,23 μg pro g freshweight). Similar differences in the B6-concentrations are also observed in the three bee castes at corresponding developmental stages. The relatively high vitamin B6 concentration in the young larvae of all three castes decreases in the course of larval development before the prepupal stage. A seasonal dependent change in the Be values is shown in the worker jelly by the increase from 3,78 μg/g freshweight in May to 8,45 μg/g freshweight in July/August. The similarity in the vitamin B6 content in the larval food and in the bees of same age indicates the identity of the drone and worker jellies. The hypopharyngeal and post-cerebral glands of queen rearing nurse bees contain more vitamin B6 than the corresponding glands of normal nurse bees of the same age.