Nasanov Gland and pheromones

I took this picture the other day, just after I'd done a Taranov split. The bees pointing their abdomens in the air are sending a scent message to any bee from the colony that might be slightly lost, and are guiding them home.

Worker bees fanning Nasanov pheromone.

Almost at the end of the abdomen, on the segment before the sting, is a scent gland that produces attractant pheromones. It's called the Nasanov Gland.

To make sure the scent is widely distributed the bee will point its' abdomen upwards and fan its' wings - this moves the pheromone into the surrounding air, it's picked up by other bees' scent receptors on their antennae and mouthparts.

When a lot of bees are fanning this pheromone the scent can be strong enough for us to smell it too. It's lemony, not unlike Lemongrass*, Lemon Balm or Lemon Verbena. We capitalise on this by using a lemony scent in bait hives, hoping we will attract a swarm by persuading scout bees that others have already marked it as good place to live.