The kairomonal esters attractive to the Varroa jacobsoni mite in the queen brood [brood pheromone, ethyl esters, methyl esters]

In the queen brood, methyl and ethyl esters reach their maximum secretion around the capping period. During this period, 3 kairomonal esters attractive to the parasitic mite Varroa jacobsoni are secreted by queen brood at half the rate found for worker brood. Methyl oleate, repellent to the mite, is secreted in large amounts compared with the attractive esters. Quantitative and qualitative differences in the esters present on worker, drone, and queen broods could partially explain the weaker attraction exerted by queen brood on the mite, compared with the attractive effects of worker and drone broods.