Miscellaneous observations on the behaviour of Schwarziana quadripunctata (Hym., Apidae, Meliponinae)

Fonseca, Vera Regina J. R. M.

doi:10.11606/issn.2526-3366.bzbm.1973.121366

Cited by 14 publications

(21 citation statements)

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“…Drones younger than 5 days were exclusively found on the brood. Young drones of Plebeia droryana (Cortopassi-Laurino, 1979), Schwarziana quadripunctata (Imperatriz-Fonseca, 1973) and M. rufiventris were also mainly found on the brood. These authors confirm our findings of the presence of older drones near food stores and the nest entrance.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In contrast to the limited behavioural repertoire performed by drones of Apis mellifera (Ohtani, 1974), drones of stingless bees are reported to perform a wide range of tasks, some of which in true honeybees are restricted exclusively to workers, such as wax working, nectar receiving, nectar dehydration, nectar and pollen foraging and guarding the nest entrance (Imperatriz-Fonseca, 1973). Sommeijer and coworkers (1990) who studied intranidal drone behaviour of Melipona favosa, observed locomotion, resting, antennal contact and waste-dump acts as important drone occupations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Behaviour of drones in Melipona (Apidae, Meliponinae)

1997

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The behaviour of drones of different species of Melipona was studied in Costa Rica and on Tobago. Drones of all species behaved very similarly. The intranidal behavioural analysis indicates that drones spent most time on standing, walking, stirring the antennae and self-grooming. The only "typical worker behaviour", occasionally performed by 16 to 18 days old drones of Melipona, was the participation in nectar dehydrating. The age-relatedness and location in the nest where a behaviour is performed is being discussed. Worker aggression against drones was observed only three times. The behaviour of drones when they leave the nest is described. Drones leave the nest mainly between 8 and 11 AM, at an average age of 18.6 days. It was observed that drones do not return after they have once left the hive.A description is given of a nest-associated drone aggregation of Melipona fasciata on a wall. Drones of this species stayed in the aggregation for an average of 7.6 days, spending most time on standing or flying in a "cloud" near the nest entrance. They spent about five hours daily on the average and may leave the aggregation temporary. Drones were able to live up to 74 days in a closed hive, the average being 45 days.Implications of drone behaviour for the mating biology of stingless bees are discussed.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Behaviour of drones in Melipona (Apidae, Meliponinae)

1997

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“…Males stay inside the colony until the age of about 2-3 weeks (P. droryana, Cortopassi-Laurino, 1979; M. beecheii and M. favosa, van Veen et al, 1997). During that time, they have been reported to be involved in building activities, trophallaxis, nectar dehydration (Imperatriz-Fonseca, 1973;Cortopassi-Laurino, 1979), incubation, and nest defense (Kerr, 1990). According to NogueiraNeto (1997), some of these activities (building, nest defense) are only incidental, even though males have been observed to secrete wax.…”

Section: Life History Of Malesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The males of Melipona and other stingless bees, and their mothers

Velthuis¹,

Koedam²,

Imperatriz-Fonseca³

2005

Apidologie

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-Female behaviour in social Hymenoptera and the queen-worker conflict with respect to male production have been the focus of many studies. Although male production is an investment that is in conflict with investment in colony size, males play a vital role in colony reproduction. This paper reviews the production patterns of male stingless bees, their activities once they have reached adulthood and their origin (i.e., are they sons of workers or of queens). The existence of a broad spectrum of species-specific patterns of male production, sex ratios, and male parentage offers ample opportunities to discuss the influence of ecology on the dynamics of stingless bee colony life. The paper also argues that selfishness causes the queen and the workers to compete and each to adopt certain strategies in their effort to produce male progeny. It is this competition, expressed in various forms during the characteristic and socially complex process of cell provisioning and oviposition, that could help explain the variable outcomes of male parentage at the species level as we currently know them. stingless bee male / sex ratio / life history / male aggregation / queen-worker conflict / provisioning and oviposition process

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“…Furthermore, males of stingless bees have occasionally been seen to participate in colony maintenance activities, such as food exchange and nectar dehydration (Imperatriz-Fonseca, 1973; van Veen et al , 1997). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transcript levels of ten caste-related genes in adult diploid males of Melipona quadrifasciata (Hymenoptera, Apidae): a comparison with haploid males, queens and workers

et al. 2011

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In Hymenoptera, homozygosity at the sex locus results in the production of diploid males. In social species, these pose a double burden by having low fitness and drawing resources normally spent for increasing the work force of a colony. Yet, diploid males are of academic interest as they can elucidate effects of ploidy (normal males are haploid, whereas the female castes, the queens and workers, are diploid) on morphology and life history. Herein we investigated expression levels of ten caste-related genes in the stingless bee Melipona quadrifasciata, comparing newly emerged and 5-day-old diploid males with haploid males, queens and workers. In diploid males, transcript levels for dunce and paramyosin were increased during the first five days of adult life, while those for diacylglycerol kinase and the transcriptional co-repressor groucho diminished. Two general trends were apparent, (i) gene expression patterns in diploid males were overall more similar to haploid ones and workers than to queens, and (ii) in queens and workers, more genes were up-regulated after emergence until day five, whereas in diploid and especially so in haploid males more genes were down-regulated. This difference between the sexes may be related to longevity, which is much longer in females than in males.

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Miscellaneous observations on the behaviour of Schwarziana quadripunctata (Hym., Apidae, Meliponinae)

Cited by 14 publications

References 0 publications

Behaviour of drones in Melipona (Apidae, Meliponinae)

Behaviour of drones in Melipona (Apidae, Meliponinae)

The males of Melipona and other stingless bees, and their mothers

Transcript levels of ten caste-related genes in adult diploid males of Melipona quadrifasciata (Hymenoptera, Apidae): a comparison with haploid males, queens and workers

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