Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Production of Sexuals and Mating Frequency in the Stingless Bee Tetragonisca angustula (Latreille) (Hymenoptera, Apidae)

  • Ecology, Behavior and Bionomics
  • Published:
Neotropical Entomology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Queen, worker, and male production was studied for 1 year in three queenright colonies of Tetragonisca angustula (Latreille). We sampled brood combs monthly and noticed that the number of brood cells and production of individuals were similar among colonies. Although the production of queens did not vary significantly, the frequencies of workers, males, and the number of cells among the combs varied over time. The production of males was highly seasonal, occurring mostly from February to April, coinciding with the period of intense brood cells production, when colonies produced more males and less workers, resulting in a negative correlation. Although the frequency of queens has not varied in time, the seasonal availability of males affected the mating frequency and the time spent since emergence until fertilization of queens. In the T. angustula colonies studied, the population dynamics was highly seasonal and the mating success depended of male production, according to the season.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig 1
Fig 2
Fig 3
Fig 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aidar DS (1999) Coleta de ninhos de Jataí (Tetragonisca angustula). Paracatu, Fundação Acangau, 32 p

    Google Scholar 

  • Alves DA, Imperatriz-Fonseca VL, Santos-Filho PS (2009) Production of workers, queens and males in Plebeia remota colonies (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Meliponini), a stingless bee with reproductive diapause. Genet Mol Res 8(2):672–683

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bego LR (1982) On social regulation in Nannotrigona (Scaptotrigona) postica Latreille, with special reference to male production cycles (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Meliponinae). Bol Zool Univ Sao Paulo 7:181–196

    Google Scholar 

  • Bego LR (1990) On social regulation in Nannotrigona postica Latreille, with special reference to productivity of colonies (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Meliponinae). Rev Bras Entomol 34:721–738

    Google Scholar 

  • Beig D (1972) The production of males in queenright colonies of Trigona (Scaptotrigona) postica. J Apic Res 11:33–39

    Google Scholar 

  • Bourke AFG, Ratnieks FLW (1999) Kin conflict over caste determination in social Hymenoptera. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 46:287–297

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cabral GCP, Imperatriz-Fonseca VL (2007) Produção de machos, rainhas e operárias em Colônias de Nannotrigona testaceicornis Lepeletier Durante a Primavera e Verão (Apidae, Meliponinae). In: Anais do VIII Congresso de Ecologia do Brasil, Caxambu, 1–2

  • Camargo CA (1972) Determinação de castas em Scaptotrigona postica Latreille (Hymenoptera, Apidae). Rev Bras Biol 32:133–138

    Google Scholar 

  • Camargo JMF, Pedro SRM (1992) Systematics, phylogeny and biogeographic of the meliponinae (Hymenoptera, Apidae): a mini-review. Apidologie 23:509–522

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Camargo JMF, Pedro SRM (2007) Meliponini Lepeletier, 1836. In: Moure JMS, Urban D, Melo GAR (eds) Catalogue of bees (Hymenoptera, Apoidea) in the Neotropical Region. Sociedade Brasileira de Entomologia, Curitiba, pp 273–578

    Google Scholar 

  • Chinh TX, Sommeijer MJ (2005) Production of sexuals in the stingless bee Trigona (Lepidotrigona) ventralis flavibasis Cockerell (Apidae, Meliponini) in northern Vietnam. Apidologie 36:493–503

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cortopassi-Laurino M, Gelli DS (1991) Analyse pollinique, proprietés physico-chimique et action antibactérienne des miels d'abeilles africanisées Apis mellifera et des Méliponines du Brésil. Apidologie 22:61–73

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Darchen R, Delage-Darchen B (1971) Le déterminisme des castes chez les Trigones (Hyménoptères Apidés). Insect Soc 18:121–134

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Engels W, Imperatriz-Fonseca VL (1990) Caste development, reproductive strategies, and control of fertility in honey bees and stingless bees. In: Engels W (ed) Social Insects: An evolutionary approach to castes and reproduction. Springer, Berlin, pp 167–230

    Google Scholar 

  • Faustino CD, Silva-Matos EV, Mateus S, Zucchi R (2002) First record of emergency queen rearing in stingless bees (Hymenoptera, Apinae, Meliponini). Insect Soc 49:111–113

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grosso AF, Bego LR, Martinez AS (2000) The production of males in queenright colonies of Tetragonisca angustula angustula (Hymenoptera, Meliponinae). Sociobiology 35:475–485

    Google Scholar 

  • Hartfelder K, Engels W (1989) The composition of larval food in stingless bees: evaluating nutritional balance by chemosystematic methods. Insect Soc 36(1):1–14

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hartfelder K, Makert GR, Judice CC, Pereira GAG, Santana WC, Dallacqua R, Bitondi MMG (2006) Physiological and genetic mechanisms underlying caste development, reproduction and division of labor in stingless bees. Apidologie 37:144–163

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Imperatriz-Fonseca VL, Kleinert-Giovannini A, Cortopassi-Laurino M, Ramalho M (1984) Hábitos de coleta de Tetragonisca angustula angustula Latreille (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Meliponinae). Bol Zool Univ Sao Paulo 8:115–131

    Google Scholar 

  • Kerr WE (1948) Estudos sobre o gênero Melipona. An Escola Super Agric “Luiz de Queiroz” 5(2):181–276

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kerr WE (1950) Genetic determination of castes in the genus Melipona. Genetics 35:143–152

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kerr WE (1969) Some aspects of the evolution of social bees (Apidae). Evol Biol 3:119–175

    Google Scholar 

  • Kerr WE, Nielsen RA (1966) Evidence that genetically determined Melipona queens can become workers. Genetics 54:859–865

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kerr WE, Stort AC, Montenegro MJ (1966) Importância de alguns fatores ambientais na determinação das castas do gênero Melipona. An Acad Bras Cienc 38:149–168

    Google Scholar 

  • Koedam D, Velthausz PH, van der Krift T, Dohmen MR (1996) Morphology of reproductive and trophic eggs and their controlled release by workers in Trigona (Tetragonisca) angustula Illiger (Apidae, Meliponinae). Physiol Entomol 21:289–296

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Koedam D, Contrera FAL, Imperatriz-Fonseca VL (1999) Clustered male production by workers in the stingless bee Melipona subnitida Ducke (Apidae, Meliponinae). Insect Soc 46:387–391

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lacerda LM, Zucchi R (1999) Behavioral alterations and related aspects in queenless colonies of Geotrigona mombuca (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Meliponinae). Sociobiology 33:277–288

    Google Scholar 

  • Lacerda LM, Simões ZLP, Velthuis HHW (2010) The sharing of male production among workers and queens in Scaptotrigona depilis (Moure, 1942) (Apidae, Meliponini). Insect Soc 57:185–192

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Michener CD (2000) The bees of the world. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore

    Google Scholar 

  • Moo-Valle H, Quezada-Euán JJG, Wenselleers T (2001) The effect of food reserves on the production of sexual offspring in the stingless bee Melipona beecheii (Apidae, Meliponini). Insect Soc 48:398–403

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nogueira-Neto P (1997) Vida e Criação de Abelhas Indígenas sem Ferrão. São Paulo, Nogueirapis Editora, 445 p

    Google Scholar 

  • Oliveira RC, Nunes FMF, Campos APS, Vasconcelos SM, Roubik D, Goulart LR, Kerr WE (2004) Genetic divergence in Tetragonisca angustula Latreille, 1811 (Hymenoptera, Meliponinae, Trigonini) based on RAPD markers. Genet Mol Biol 27(2):181–186

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Paxton RJ, Bego LR, Shah MM, Mateus S (2003) Low mating frequency of queens in the stingless bee Scaptotrigona postica and worker maternity of males. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 53:174–181

    Google Scholar 

  • Ratnieks FLW (2001) Heirs and spares: caste conflict and excess queen production in Melipona bees. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 50:467–473

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reuter M, Keller L (2001) Sex ratio conflict and worker production in eusocial Hymenoptera. Am Nat 158:166–177

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ribeiro MF, Wenseleers T, Santos-Filho OS, Alves DA (2006) Miniature queens in stingless bees: basic facts and evolutionary hypotheses. Apidologie 37:191–206

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roubik DW (1983) Nest and colony characteristics of stingless bees from Panama (Hymenoptera: Apidae). J Kansas Entomol Soc 56:327–355

    Google Scholar 

  • Roubik DW (1989) Ecology and natural history of tropical bees. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 194 p

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Sakagami SF (1982) Stingless bees. In: Hermann HR (ed) Social insects. Academic, New York, 423 p

    Google Scholar 

  • Sakagami SF, Beig D, Zucchi R, Akahira Y (1963) Occurrence of ovary-developed workers in queenright colonies of stingless bees. Rev Bras Biol 23:115–129

    Google Scholar 

  • Santos-Filho PS, Alves DA, Eterovic A, Imperatriz-Fonseca VL, Kleinert AMP (2006) Numerical investment in sex and caste by stingless bees (Apidae: Meliponini): a comparative analysis. Apidologie 37:207–221

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Silveira FA, Melo GAR, Almeida EAB (2002) Abelhas Brasileiras: Sistemática e Identificação, Belo Horizonte, 253 p

  • Sommeijer MJ, Bruijn LLM, Meeussen FJAF, Martens EP (2003) Natural patterns of caste and sex allocation in the stingless bees Melipona favosa and M. trinitatis related to workers behavior. Insect Soc 50:38–44

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Terada Y (1974) Contribuição ao estudo da regulação social em Leurotrigona muelleri e Frieseomelitta varia (Hymenoptera, Apidae), Msc thesis, Universidade de São Paulo

  • Tóth E, Strassmann JE, Nogueira-Neto P, Imperatriz-Fonseca VL, Queller DC (2002) Male production in stingless bees: variable outcomes of queen-worker conflict. Mol Ecol 11:2661–2667

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tóth E, Queller DC, Dollin A, Strassmann JE (2004) Conflict over male parentage in stingless bees. Insect Soc 51:1–11

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van Benthem FDJ, Imperatriz-Fonseca VL, Velthuis HHW (1995) Biology of the stingless bee Plebeia remota (Holmberg): observations and evolutionary implications. Insect Soc 42:71–87

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van Veen JW, Sommeijer MJ (2000a) Colony reproduction in Tetragonisca angustula (Apidae, Meliponini). Insect Soc 47:70–75

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van Veen JW, Sommeijer MJ (2000b) Observations on gynes and drones around nuptial flights in the stingless bees Tetragonisca angustula and Melipona beecheii (Melipona). Apidologie 31:47–54

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van Veen JM, Sommeijer MJ, Arce HG (1999) The role of colony development and resource availability in the regulation of queen production in Melipona beecheii (Apidae, Meliponini). In: van Veen JW (ed) Colony reproduction in stingless bees. Utrecht Univ, Litografia Imprenta Lil SA, San Jose, pp 80–87

    Google Scholar 

  • Velthuis HHW, Sommeijer MJ (1991) Roles of morphogenetic hormones in caste polymorphism in stingless bees. In: Gupta AP (ed) Morphogenetic hormones of arthropods. Rutgers University Press, New Jersey, pp 346–383

    Google Scholar 

  • Velthuis HHW, Koedam D, Imperatriz-Fonseca VL (2005) The males of Melipona and other stingless bees, and their mothers. Apidologie 36:169–185

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wenseleers T, Ratnieks FL, Billen J (2003) Caste fate conflict in swarm-founding social hymenoptera: an inclusive fitness analysis. J Evol Biol 16:647–658

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wheeler DE (1986) Developmental and physiological determinants of caste in social Hymenoptera: evolutionary implications. Am Nat 128:13–34

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilde J, Beetsma J (1982) The physiology of caste development in social insects. Adv Insect Physiol 16:167–245

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This research was supported by Fapesp (Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo; no. 08/52339-3) and was included in the Biota thematic project “Biodiversity and sustainable use of pollinators with emphasis in Meliponini bees”, also funded by Fapesp (no. 04/15801-0). We are grateful to two anonymous referees and the editor in chief for their valuable comments on the manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Lab de Biologia e Genética de Abelhas, Depto Genética, FMRP-USP, Univ de São Paulo, bloco A, Av. Bandeirantes Univ de São Paulo, 3900, 14049-900, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brasil

    M Prato & A E E Soares

Authors
  1. M Prato
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. A E E Soares
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to M Prato.

Additional information

Edited by Fernando B Noll – UNESP

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Prato, M., Soares, A.E.E. Production of Sexuals and Mating Frequency in the Stingless Bee Tetragonisca angustula (Latreille) (Hymenoptera, Apidae). Neotrop Entomol 42, 474–482 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13744-013-0154-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13744-013-0154-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation