Reaction of Melipona rufiventris lepeletier to citral and against an attack by the cleptobiotic bee Lestrimelitta limao (smith) (hymenoptera: Apidae: Meliponina)

Pompeu, M. S.; Silveira, Fernando A.

doi:10.1590/s1519-69842005000100023

Cited by 11 publications

(5 citation statements)

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“…After that, these bees kill both adults and larvae and can, in a single attack, eliminate the nest of the "host" species. Bees that attack other colonies in this manner are called robber bees (Free, 1955;Sakagami, Roubik & Zucchi, 1993) or cleptobiotic bees (Pompeu & Silveira, 2005;Marchi & Melo, 2006). This kind of attack behavior is also accomplished by ants and, in this case, the interaction is termed cleptobiosis (Richard, Dejean & Lachaud, 2004).…”

Section: Kinds Of Kleptoparasitismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Notas sobre o comportamento da aranha cleptoparasita Argyrodes elevatus (Theridiidae, Araneae)

Silveira

Japyassú²

2012

reveto

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Kleptoparasitism is an interaction in which one individual steals captured or processed food from another; spiders of the subfamily Argyrodinae (Theridiidae) may present kleptoparasitic behavior. Aiming to increase the knowledge about this unique strategy, we describe activities accomplished by the kleptoparasitic spider Argyrodes elevatus (Theridiidae) in webs of captive host spiders. After a prey was captured by the host spider, a second prey was offered, so that the kleptoparasite could steal the first prey while the host spider was immobilizing the second one. Using this method, we were able to see a wide range of events, such as the theft of stored preys, the sharing of a prey with the host, the theft of the egg sacs, the predation of host spiders, and others. Finally, we discuss how kleptoparasitism could vary in function of host behavior and how the high behavioral variability of Argyrodes elevatus could be explained.

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Section: Kinds Of Kleptoparasitismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Notas sobre o comportamento da aranha cleptoparasita Argyrodes elevatus (Theridiidae, Araneae)

Silveira

Japyassú²

2012

reveto

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“…Almost all studies have focused on the effects of MGP at victim colonies, where the responses of victims may be adaptive, a result of manipulation by the robbers, or both (Grüter 2020). MGP has been hypothesized to disorient victims by overloading their olfaction (Blum et al 1970;Sakagami et al 1993), to cause victims to flee (Pompeu and Silveira 2005), to mask the ability of victims to perceive their own alarm pheromones (supersedure hypothesis) and coordinate defense (Johnson 1987;Kerr 1951;Moure et al 1958), to disrupt victim social behaviors (Blum et al 1970), to tranquilize and induce victim submission (Sakagami et al 1993), or to induce victim torpor (toxin effect) (Sakagami et al 1993). The toxin hypothesis is also proposed by Nogueira-Neto (1970), who observed L. limao licking dead or dying Plebeia droryana victims and found that bees remained momentarily motionless after a L. limao bite.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…MGP may have all these functions, but Lestrimelitta's raiding success is most likely related to their prowess as robbers. Lestrimelitta can repeatedly attack the same victim colonies (Sakagami et al 1993), and victims should therefore be able to associate MGP with imminent raiding (Campollo-Ovalle and Sánchez 2018) and chose the best response: fleeing (Pompeu and Silveira 2005), aggressively counter-attacking (Nunes et al 2014;von Zuben and Nunes 2014), or using other methods to resist (Sakagami et al 1993).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fighting ability and the toxicity of raiding pheromone in an obligate kleptoparasite, the stingless bee Lestrimelitta niitkib

James

Sánchez

Cruz‐López

et al. 2022

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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The evolution of obligate kleptoparasitism, the theft of food, has led to remarkable innovations, including physical weapons and chemical signals that can evolve into chemical weapons. Stingless bees in the genus Lestrimelitta are excellent examples of this phenomenon because they are obligate kleptoparasites that no longer collect floral resources and instead steal brood resources from other bees. Their ability to raid successfully is thus essential to their fitness even when they fight species that are physically bigger, have larger defense forces, or both. We conducted morphometric analyses, quantified Lestrimelitta niitkib mandibular gland pheromone (MGP) components, and carried out individual fighting trials between L. niitkib and the stingless bee Scaptotrigona mexicana, a common victim species, to shed light on the detailed reasons for their success at robbing. Measurements showed that L. niitkib mandibles have thicker exoskeleton cuticles and overall greater width, particularly in the medial and proximal sections, than S. mexicana, which is quite similar in body size. In all fights, L. niitkib bit victims and released MGP, as it does during raids. Scaptotrigona mexicana victims exhibited significantly increased uncoordinated behaviors and showed partial or complete paralysis. We analyzed and quantified the major components of MGP, which consisted of large quantities of geranial (mean of 253 μg) and neral (48 μg) per bee. Microinjections of 1 bee equivalent (BE) of natural or synthetic MGP and ≥ 0.1 BE of geranial significantly increased deleterious behaviors and paralysis as compared to control injections. We suggest that the large quantities of MGP used during raiding have led to an unexpected outcome, a semiochemical evolving the additional function of a toxin, and contribute to the ability of Lestrimelitta to rob its victims. Significance statement Kleptoparasites, organisms that steal food resources, employ multiple physical and chemical tools to survive. The success of kleptoparasitism requires a balance between honesty and coercion in interspecific communication. The genus Lestrimellita consists of a group of kleptoparasitic stingless bee species that raid other bee colonies for food and therefore depend upon winning these raids. However, why they succeed remains not fully understood. We studied differences in morphology between L. niitkib and its victims, the pheromones they release during raids, and ran individual fight trials between L. niitkib and a common victim to identify why they are successful. We suggest that the release of pheromones at the beginning of raids, in concert with the pheromone’s toxicity, has been combined to improve L. niitkib’s ability to successfully rob.

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“…Fernando's contributions to taxonomy, phylogenetics, and biogeography extended well beyond exomalopsine bees, having encompassed other taxa of Apidae, as well as Colletidae, Halictidae, and Megachilidae (Azevedo & Silveira 2005;Ferrari et al 2016Ferrari et al , 2017Ferrari & Silveira 2015;Freitas et al 2018Freitas et al , 2019Freitas et al , 2023Freitas & Silveira 2017;Moure & Silveira 1992;Santos Júnior et al 2015, 2022Santos & Silveira 2009;Silveira 2009Silveira , 2007bSilveira & Martines 2009;Vélez & Silveira 2006;Zama et al 2019), totaling 22 new species and five new family-group taxa (Appendix). His contributions to bee biology were also important and considerably improved our knowledge of Brazilian bees (e.g., Cardoso & Silveira 2012;Carmo et al 2004;Martins et al 1999;Pompeu & Silveira 2005;Silveira 1991Silveira , 2002Simeão et al 2015), and put their conservation on a solid foundation (Machado et al 2008;Pinheiro-Machado et al 2002b;Pires et al 2008Pires et al , 2014aSilveira 2008;. Much of this work was done while training undergraduate and graduate students.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

A tribute to Fernando A. Silveira and his contributions to bee research

ALMEIDA

2024

Zootaxa

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Fernando A. Silveira had the unique combination of being a sagacious scientist and a remarkable human being. Throughout his career, he made significant contributions to understanding bee diversity and keenly spread this scientific information to the academic community at large and beyond the university walls. His rich character, warm heart, strong voice and laughter are missed by those privileged to be Fernando’s students, friends, mentors, and family. In this volume, we honor Fernando A. Silveira, who prematurely passed away at the age of 62, leaving three sons, his wife, and numerous friends.

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Reaction of Melipona rufiventris lepeletier to citral and against an attack by the cleptobiotic bee Lestrimelitta limao (smith) (hymenoptera: Apidae: Meliponina)

Cited by 11 publications

References 1 publication

Notas sobre o comportamento da aranha cleptoparasita Argyrodes elevatus (Theridiidae, Araneae)

Notas sobre o comportamento da aranha cleptoparasita Argyrodes elevatus (Theridiidae, Araneae)

Fighting ability and the toxicity of raiding pheromone in an obligate kleptoparasite, the stingless bee Lestrimelitta niitkib

A tribute to Fernando A. Silveira and his contributions to bee research

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