Compounds identified using GC-MS from mandibular gland extracts of honey bee queens that were either raised from first-instar worker larvae (i.e., "high-quality" queens) or third-instar worker larvae (i.e., "low-quality" queens) in 2010 and 2012.

The relative amount (in %) of each compound is given for each treatment group (mean ± s.e.m.). Kovats index values were calculated for the N-methyl-N-(trimethylsilyl)-trifluoroacetamide (MSTFA) derivatives obtained from the GC retention times. Differences in relative amounts of compounds between high-quality queens and low-quality queens were analyzed with two-tailed non-parametric Wilcoxon tests because of unequal variances. All tests were performed separately for queens raised in 2010 and queens raised in 2012 (see Methods for details).