Gynandromorphy in Eulaema atleticana Nemésio (Apidae, Euglossini)

Abstract

Abstract.A gynandromorph specimen of Eulaema atleticana Nemésio, the first registered in Eulaema, is described. The E. atleticana gynandromorph was captured using an eucalyptol scent trap, in the Mata do Buraquinho Reserve, an Atlantic Forest fragment. The study site has 550 ha and is located in the urban area of the Municipality of João Pessoa, State of Paraíba, Northeast Brazil. The specimen presents antero-posterior and bilateral asymmetry. The head presents only male morphological characteristics. The mesosoma is composed by male and female structures, with male fore and middle legs. The right hind tibia shows a mosaic of male and female characters, with rudiments of the tibial organ and a corbicula. The metasoma presents only female characters.

Register of a gynandromorph of Euglossa pleosticta Dressler (Hymenoptera, Apidae)

“…As discussed by Wcislo et al (2004) and Michez et al (2009), the few reports of live gynanders suggest that they behave as females. Curiously in the case reported by Silveira et al (2012), the Eulaema specimen there studied stung the collector, clearly a female behavior. So we consider that it is very difficult to predict the behavior of gynander individuals in relation to scent attraction.…”

“…The gynandromorph of Eulaema atleticana shows a different pattern with some anterior-posterior asymmetry due to the presence of male characteristics in the entire head (Silveira et al 2012). Both specimens of Eulaema and Euglossa pleosticta show a mosaic of features in the hind tibia with a rudimentary tibial organ, making both cases very similar.…”

“…Engel 2007). Hinojosa-Díaz et al (2012) listed cases from 113 species of 29 genera, but this number is certainly underestimated (see Ramos & Ruz 2013;Silveira et al 2012). According to Michez et al (2009), gynandromorphs are classified into three main categories based on the distribution of male and female features throughout the body: bilateral (characteristics symmetrically distributed along body longitudinal axis), transversal (asymmetric distribution), and mosaic (random distribution of characters along the body).…”

“…The first record of the phenomenon in Eulaema was described by Silveira et al (2012) for a specimen collected in an urban area of northeastern Brazil. As previously mentioned, Euglossina are typical elements in Neotropical forests and commonly sampled by ecological studies, so additional records of gynandromorphs should exist in museum collections but were not studied yet.…”

New Cases of Gynandromorphism in Xylocopa Latreille, 1802 (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

“…Sexual anomalies were first reported for bees in 1857, when Sichel described a gynandromorphic form of Bombus lapidarius (Linnaeus, 1758) (Wcislo et al, 2004;Michez et al, 2009;Silveira et al, 2012). Gynandromorphs are individuals that have male and female traits simultaneously in the body, and the causes of this anomaly are discussed in relation to problems in fertilization, chromosome damages or loss, and association with symbionts and parasites (Wcislo et al, 2004;Michez et al, 2009;Narita et al, 2016).…”