Several studies demonstrated that QMP and its
components are accountable for the formation of the retinue (Free 1987), and this is
supported by the fact that worker attraction towards the queen could be related to the
modifications in the QMP pattern. The attention paid by retinue workers increases when the
virgin queen becomes mated and lays eggs, and then decreases as she grows old; the
degree of attractiveness of the queen is null at 0–1 day old, medium from 2 to 4 days old,
and high from 5 days to 18 months old (De Hazan et al. 1989). Richards et al. (2007) tested
the mandibular gland extracts of virgin and inseminated queens on worker retinue
responses and found that gland extracts of the inseminated queens were more attractive
than those of the virgin queens, and those of queens inseminated with more than one drone
were more attractive than those of queens inseminated with a single drone. This suggests
that mating is a crucial factor for the development of the chemical signal of the queen and
its attractive effect on workers.