Schneiderman's letters refer to several court cases in New York and note that noncompete agreements that inhibit workers from finding new jobs are "disfavored by New York law".
Above this threshold, however, although the queen exercises all her potential power in inhibiting the workers from laying eggs, this is apparently insufficient to inhibit workers from egg-laying (as occurred in the 10-worker QL groups).
If we compare the α-worker to the queen in full-sized colonies it can be hypothesized that worker reproduction in B. terrestris colonies starts due to a gradual increase in the worker population and the queen's inability to physically inhibit worker oviposition.
Complete worker sterility benefits the queen, which should be selected to inhibit worker reproduction.
Direct contact with the queen is required to inhibit worker reproduction, though this typically does not seem to require aggressive interactions [ 14, 15].
Similarly, in the stingless bees Friesella schrottkyi, queen cuticular extracts have been shown to inhibit worker ovary activation, and several hydrocarbons, including pentacosane, elicited an electroantennographic response, which suggests that cuticular compounds may act as queen pheromones in this species as well [ 32].
In the absence of QMP, the eβ high dose of 10 Leq/bee significantly suppressed OA (Fig. 4a) as seen in previous experiments (Maisonnasse et al. 2009), paralleling the effects of live larvae, which inhibit worker OA (Jay 1972; Jay and Jay 1976).
We therefore suggest to couple between two explanations: at the proximate level, the queen behaviorally inhibits workers from laying eggs.
Low wages inhibited workers' ability to provide housing, clothing, healthcare and education to their families.
Exposure to QMP inhibits worker ovarian development, thereby maintaining the reproductive dominance of the queen.
QMP also inhibits worker ovary activation [22], [23], inhibits queen cell production by workers [24], [25], stimulates pollen foraging and brood rearing in small, newly founded colonies [26], increases nectar foraging [27], [28], and delays the age-at-onset of foraging and reduces juvenile hormone secretion [27].
