Fast weight recovery, metabolic rate adjustment and gene-expression regulation define responses of cold-stressed honey bee brood.

In temperate climates, low ambient temperatures in late winter and in spring can result in cold stress conditions in brood areas of weakened honey bee colonies, leading to increased levels of developmental interruptions and death of the brood. Very little is known about the physiological and molecular mechanisms that regulate honey bee brood responses to acute cold-stress. Here, we hypothesized that central regulatory pathways mediated by insulin/insulin-like peptide signalling (IIS) and adipokinetic hormone (AKH) are linked to metabolic changes in cold-stressed honey bee brood.