Reviewed by Daniel M. · Last Updated September 23, 2026 · How we review
Bees communicate mostly through pheromones: chemical signals that queens, workers and even larvae release to change one another’s behavior and physiology. The queen’s mandibular pheromone holds the colony together and suppresses worker reproduction; the alarm pheromone released with a sting calls in defenders; workers fan Nasonov scent to guide nestmates home; and larvae release brood pheromones that tell workers what they need. Some signals pass from bee to bee by touch and food sharing, and others travel through the air.
This guide covers the whole system: which glands make pheromones, how the signals move through a dark hive of tens of thousands of bees, and each major pheromone with its source, its known chemical components, what it does and what you can see or smell in the hive because of it. For the waggle dance and other non-chemical signals, see our overview of bee communication.
Key Takeaways
- Pheromones come from several distinct glands, including the mandibular glands, the Nasonov gland, glands on the feet and the sting apparatus, and each is tied to different messages.
- Releaser pheromones trigger an immediate behavior, such as alarm or orientation. Primer pheromones cause slower changes in physiology, such as ovary suppression or the age at which workers start foraging.
- Contact signals such as queen mandibular pheromone spread through touch, grooming and food sharing; volatile signals such as Nasonov and alarm pheromone travel through the air.
- The queen’s retinue attraction relies on a blend of at least nine compounds: five in queen mandibular pheromone plus four more identified in 2003.
- Larvae are not passive. Older larvae produce a brood ester pheromone, and young larvae release E-β-ocimene, which pushes workers to start foraging earlier.
- Two pheromones humans can smell are the banana-like alarm pheromone and the lemony Nasonov scent at the entrance.
Table of Contents
Where Pheromones Come From
There is no single pheromone gland. Different signals come from different, specialized sources, which is why one bee can be sending several messages at once depending on what she is doing.
- Mandibular glands, in the head, make queen mandibular pheromone in queens. In workers they produce 2-heptanone, among other compounds.
- The Nasonov gland, near the tip of a worker’s abdomen, releases a volatile scent used for orientation and recruitment.
- Glands on the feet leave a footprint scent on surfaces a bee walks across, such as the hive entrance and flowers.
- The sting apparatus releases alarm pheromone when a worker stings.
- Dufour’s gland, near the sting, produces secretions that differ between queens and workers and are thought to help signal reproductive status.
- Larvae produce their own pheromones from the cuticle and in the air around them.
Primer vs Releaser Pheromones
Scientists sort honeybee pheromones by how fast they work. A releaser pheromone triggers an immediate behavior: a guard smells alarm pheromone and flies out to defend the hive. A primer pheromone changes a bee’s physiology or development over days or weeks: a worker exposed to queen pheromone keeps her ovaries inactive. Some compounds do both. Queen mandibular pheromone attracts workers within seconds and also suppresses their reproduction over time.
In a 2005 review in the Journal of Chemical Ecology, chemist Keith Slessor, entomologist Mark Winston and bee biologist Yves Le Conte noted that honeybees were the only social insect for which primer pheromones had been chemically identified. They also stressed that dose, context and combinations of compounds matter as much as any single molecule (Slessor, Winston & Le Conte, 2005).
How Signals Travel Through the Colony
A colony has to move chemical information through a dark, crowded nest, and it uses two routes.
- Contact. Queen mandibular pheromone and the brood ester pheromone are not very volatile. Workers pick them up by touching and grooming the queen or brood, then pass them on as they move through the nest, touch antennae with other bees and share food mouth to mouth (trophallaxis). It is slower than the air, but it reaches deep into the nest reliably. Our article on the role of trophallaxis explains how food sharing carries these signals.
- Air. Volatile signals such as alarm pheromone, Nasonov scent and the young-larva pheromone E-β-ocimene spread through the air and act over short distances within seconds. That speed is what makes alarm pheromone effective, and what makes a sting on your glove a problem for the rest of the inspection.
Bees detect both kinds mainly with their antennae, which carry thousands of chemical receptors.
Honeybee Pheromones at a Glance
| Pheromone | Produced by | Key components | Type | Main effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Queen mandibular pheromone (QMP) | Queen, mandibular glands (full blend in mated, laying queens) | 9-ODA, two forms of 9-HDA, HOB, HVA (five compounds) | Releaser and primer | Attracts a retinue, suppresses worker ovaries and queen rearing, attracts drones on mating flights |
| Queen retinue pheromone (additional compounds) | Queen, several glands | Methyl oleate, coniferyl alcohol, hexadecan-1-ol, linolenic acid | Releaser | Strengthens retinue attraction, but only when QMP is present |
| Brood ester pheromone | Mainly older larvae | A blend of fatty acid esters | Contact; primer and releaser | Regulates nurse care and worker development |
| E-β-ocimene | Young larvae | E-β-ocimene | Volatile primer | Brings forward the age of foraging; partly inhibits worker ovaries |
| Ethyl oleate | Adult foragers (highest in the crop) | Ethyl oleate | Primer | Delays younger workers’ move into foraging |
| Sting alarm pheromone | Workers, sting glands | Isopentyl acetate and other compounds | Releaser | Recruits defenders; marks the sting site |
| 2-heptanone | Workers, mandibular glands | 2-heptanone | Debated | Once considered an alarm signal; shown to briefly paralyze small pests when bees bite |
| Nasonov pheromone | Workers, Nasonov gland on the abdomen | Seven terpenoids, mainly geraniol plus citral isomers, nerol, nerolic and geranic acids, (E,E)-farnesol | Releaser | Orients bees to the entrance, water sources and swarm clusters |
| Footprint pheromone | Workers, glands on the feet | Not fully characterized | Releaser | Marks the entrance and visited food sources |
Queen Pheromones
Queen mandibular pheromone
QMP is a blend of five compounds that work together, and it is the main reason a colony behaves as one unit around a single queen. Workers who lick and touch the queen pick it up and pass it on as they move through the nest. While QMP levels are high, workers rarely build queen cells and their ovaries stay inactive. QMP also affects workers’ learning and the age at which they start foraging. When the queen dies, fails or is removed, the signal fades within hours. That is why beekeepers see a “queenless roar,” emergency queen cells, and eventually laying workers. Our guides to signs of queen pheromone failure and laying workers cover what that looks like on the frames.
The same compound 9-ODA also works outside the hive. On mating flights, it helps drones find the virgin queen; see our virgin queen mating flight timeline.
The retinue pheromone
Synthetic QMP never quite matched a real queen at attracting workers. Researchers at Simon Fraser University bred colonies that responded poorly to synthetic QMP and used them to find the missing ingredients. They identified four more compounds from several glands. None was attractive on its own; each worked only in combination with QMP.
“The queen therefore produces a synergistic, multiglandular pheromone blend of at least nine compounds for retinue attraction.”
Keeling, Slessor, Higo and Winston, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2003)
Queen pheromone output varies with age, mating quality and health, which is one reason an older or poorly mated queen is more likely to be superseded. See how queen pheromone strength affects the colony.
Brood Pheromones
Larvae send two different chemical messages. The brood ester pheromone, produced mainly by older larvae, works through contact and influences how nurse bees care for them and how many are recruited to do it. Young larvae release a volatile pheromone that spreads through the air. French researchers found that larvae up to three days old produce the most E-β-ocimene relative to their weight, and that it makes nest workers start foraging earlier, so the colony brings in more food while there are many young mouths to feed (Maisonnasse et al., PLoS ONE, 2010).
Brood pheromones also help keep workers’ ovaries inactive, which is why a queenless colony with no open brood tends to develop laying workers faster. Giving such a colony a frame of open brood is an old beekeeping practice that turns out to be supported by the chemistry. Our brood pheromone guide goes further into its effects.
Worker Pheromones
Alarm pheromone
When a worker stings, the sting apparatus releases a mix of volatile compounds, of which isopentyl acetate is the best known. It smells like bananas. It marks the sting site and recruits nearby guards, which is why one sting often leads to more. Worker bees also release 2-heptanone from their mandibular glands when they bite. It was long listed as a second alarm pheromone, but a 2012 study found it acts as a local anesthetic, briefly paralyzing wax moth larvae and varroa mites after a bite (Papachristoforou et al., PLoS ONE, 2012). Its role as an alarm signal is still debated. Our guide to alarm signals in bees covers colony defense.
Nasonov pheromone
Workers expose the Nasonov gland near the tip of the abdomen and fan their wings to spread its scent. Researchers at Rothamsted Experimental Station identified it as a blend of seven compounds dominated by geraniol, each of which attracted foragers in field tests (Williams, Pickett & Martin, Journal of Chemical Ecology, 1981). You will see bees “scenting” at the entrance after a hive is disturbed, at water sources, and on a swarm cluster guiding stragglers in.
Footprint pheromone and ethyl oleate
Walking workers leave a footprint scent at the entrance and on flowers. It helps bees find the entrance and makes Nasonov lures more attractive. Ethyl oleate, made by foragers and passed on through food sharing, slows the pace at which young bees become foragers. If a colony loses many foragers, less ethyl oleate is passed around and younger bees start foraging sooner (Leoncini et al., PNAS, 2004).
How Beekeepers Use Pheromone Knowledge
| Situation | Pheromone involved | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Bees become defensive after a sting | Alarm pheromone on your glove or suit | Smoke the sting site to mask the smell; wash gloves and suits regularly |
| Opening a hive | Alarm pheromone | Light smoke at the entrance and under the cover before working |
| Trapping swarms | Nasonov | Bait traps with a Nasonov-type lure or a few drops of lemongrass oil, whose citral and geraniol resemble the natural blend |
| Introducing a new queen | QMP | Cage her so her scent spreads before workers can reach her |
| Long-queenless colony | Missing QMP and brood pheromone | Add a frame of open brood and requeen promptly to head off laying workers |
On the northern plains, swarm traps go up ahead of the late-spring swarm season, and a well-baited trap does much of its work through Nasonov-type scent alone. Our guide to pheromone swarm lures compares commercial options. For queen introduction, see introducing a new queen bee.
Common Misconceptions
- “Pheromones tell bees where the flowers are.” Direction and distance come from the waggle dance. Pheromones such as Nasonov and footprint scent help bees find the exact spot once they are close. See bee communication for how the dance works.
- “Only the queen can make queen pheromone.” Laying workers can produce some queen-like mandibular compounds, and in the Cape honey bee this is pronounced enough that workers can pass as queens.
- “One chemical, one message.” Most honeybee pheromones are blends, and the same compound can mean different things in different contexts.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do bees pass pheromone signals to each other?
Contact pheromones such as queen mandibular pheromone spread through grooming, antennal contact and mouth-to-mouth food sharing, which works well in a dark, crowded hive. Volatile pheromones such as Nasonov scent and alarm pheromone travel through the air and act within seconds over short distances.
Can humans smell bee pheromones?
Some of them. Alarm pheromone smells like bananas, which many beekeepers notice after a sting. The Nasonov scent at the entrance has a faint lemon or geranium smell. Queen and brood pheromones are not noticeable to people.
What gets rid of the alarm pheromone after a sting?
Smoke masks it right away, which is why beekeepers smoke a sting site. Afterwards, washing gloves, suits and skin with soap and water removes residue so it doesn’t make bees defensive next time.
How do honeybees detect pheromones?
Mainly with their antennae, which carry thousands of chemical receptors. Contact pheromones such as QMP and the brood ester pheromone are also picked up through direct touch and passed on through grooming and food sharing.
What happens when a colony loses its queen’s pheromone?
Within hours the workers become agitated, start building emergency queen cells from young larvae if there are any, and, if no queen is raised, some workers eventually start laying unfertilized eggs.
Why do bees fan at the hive entrance with their abdomens raised?
They are exposing the Nasonov gland and fanning its scent out to guide nestmates. You’ll see it most after a hive has been disturbed, when a swarm is settling, or when bees are finding a new entrance.
Is lemongrass oil the same as bee pheromone?
No, but it contains citral and geraniol, two of the main components of Nasonov pheromone. That is why it attracts scout bees to swarm traps.
The Bottom Line
A honey bee colony has no leader giving orders, but its pheromones do much of that job. The queen’s multi-compound blend holds the colony together, larvae and foragers adjust how the workforce is divided, and alarm and Nasonov scents coordinate defense and orientation in seconds. Knowing which signal is at work explains a lot of what you see at the hive, from a defensive colony after a sting to bees fanning at the entrance.
