Toxinology of venoms from the honeybee genus Apis.

The venoms of Apis dorsata, A. cerana, A. florea, and three different populations of A. mellifera were compared for lethal activity toward mice. All venoms exhibited identical activities, a finding consistent with recent evolutionary history within the genus. Young queen honeybees use their venoms only for stinging other queens and possess a venom only half as lethal to mice as worker venom, and by the time queens are 1-2 years of age their venom has become essentially inactive. Phospholipase A2 is the most lethal of the honeybee venom peptides, whereas melittin, which is only slightly less lethal, is the most abundant. Concurrent analyses of melittin, phospholipase, and the combination of the two at their natural 3:1 mixture in bee venom revealed that the lethal activity of the mixture was about the same as native honeybee venom. This value was less than that for either melittin or phospholipase alone and indicates that synergism of the two peptides is not occurring. The results are consistent with independent lethal activities for the venom components, and show that melittin is not only the dominant, but also the main lethal component in honeybee venom.