Ultrastructural aspects of the mandibular gland of Melipona bicolor Lepeletier, 1836 (Hymenoptera: Apidae, Meliponini) in the castes

Gracioli, Luciana Fioretti; Moraes, Renata Mendonça; Cruz-Landim, Carminda da

doi:10.1016/j.micron.2003.10.051

Cited by 12 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…20 The results from the chromatographic analyses indicate a different chemical composition of the mandibular glands in relation to age and activity inside the colony for workers, and in relation to the physiological condition for queens. Males can also be distinguished from females by the chemical composition of the mandibular gland.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

The chemical composition of the mandibular gland secretion of Melipona bicolor Lepeletier, 1836 (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Meliponini): a comparative study among castes and sexes

Gracioli‐Vitti

Abdalla

Moraes

et al. 2004

J. Braz. Chem. Soc.

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A secreção das glândulas mandibulares de operárias recém-emergidas, aprovisionadoras de cria e forrageiras, rainhas virgens e fisogástricas e machos de Melipona bicolor foi analisada através de cromatografia gasosa-espectrometria de massas. Foi verificado que a secreção é composta por uma mistura de hidrocarbonetos, álcoois, ésteres e ácidos. A secreção é casta-sexo específica e difere, também, de acordo com a tarefa desenvolvida pelas operárias e condição fisiológica reprodutiva das rainhas.The mandibular gland secretions of newly emerged, nurse and forager workers, virgin and physogastric queens and males of Melipona bicolor were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The secretion is composed of a blend of hydrocarbons, alcohols, esters, and acids. The secretion is caste-sex specific and also differs with the tasks performed by the workers and the physiological reproductive condition of the queens.Keywords: GC-MS, mandibular glands, Melipona bicolor, caste, sex, reproductive variation. IntroductionColonies of eusocial bees include males and females, the latter being represented by two castes: workers and queens. The main function of the males is to mate with the queen and, therefore, supply the genetic complementation for female reproduction. The queen influences the behavior and physiology of the infertile females or workers 1,2 that are responsible for every task of colony maintenance, such as nest defense, provisioning, and brood care. In the colony darkness a precise system of chemical communication exists to maintain the interaction among individuals and the organization of the various activities. This chemical communication is based on the production of substances with intra-specific action known as pheromones 4 by numerous exocrine glands dispersed along the bee body. 5The main function of the pheromones produced by the mandibular gland of Apis mellifera honeybee workers is alarm or defense. In contrast, males use their mandibular gland to produce sexual attractants for the queens. The queen produces the "queen substance", 6 a primer pheromone used to prevent worker ovary development and for sexual attraction of males. 1,6,7 Among the workers, there are variations in the composition of the glandular product related to age and type of task performed. Young workers produce mainly 10-hydroxydecenoic acid while older ones, whose task is foraging, produce predominantly 2-heptanone. [8][9][10] In spite of the differences between the glandular products of queens and workers, the same biosynthetic pathways for the production of pheromones is potentially present in both, since it was demonstrated that egg-laying workers of A. mellifera and A. mellifera capensis also produce 9-oxydecenoic acid, which is one of the components of the queen´s mandibular gland secretion. 11Therefore, the presence of the queen in A. mellifera apparently inhibits in workers 12 the production of pheromones typical of the reproductive female.In meliponine bees, mandibular glands occur in queens, workers, and males.13 Whereas ...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

The chemical composition of the mandibular gland secretion of Melipona bicolor Lepeletier, 1836 (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Meliponini): a comparative study among castes and sexes

Gracioli‐Vitti

Abdalla

Moraes

et al. 2004

J. Braz. Chem. Soc.

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“…Costa Leonardo () described the mandibular glands at the ultrastructural level for workers of honey bees, Cruz Landim and de Camargo () for the stingless bee Lestrimelitta limao , Gracioli et al . () for queens and workers of Melipona bicolor , while Stein () provided ultrastructural data for the males of bumblebees. Scanning microscopy of the mandibular gland of the stingless bee L. limao was performed by Cruz Landim and de Camargo ().…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Scanning electron microscopical studies of ants were performed by Hernández and Caetano (1995) for Atta laevigata, by Tomotake et al (1992) for Pachycondyla striata, by Billen and Schoeters (1994) for Formica species, by Pavon and Camargo (2001) for A. sexdens and by Grasso et al (2004) for queens of Polyergus rufescens. Costa Leonardo (1981) described the mandibular glands at the ultrastructural level for workers of honey bees, Cruz Landim and de Camargo (1970) for the stingless bee Lestrimelitta limao, Gracioli et al (2004) for queens and workers of Melipona bicolor, while Stein (1962) provided ultrastructural data for the males of bumblebees. Scanning microscopy of the mandibular gland of the stingless bee L. limao was performed by Cruz Landim and de Camargo (1970).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Functional morphology of the mandibular gland of queens of the ant Monomorium pharaonis (L.)

et al. 2012

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In this study, the functional morphology of the mandibular glands of pharaoh ant queens is investigated through histological and behavioural observations. The mandibular glands of queens of different age stages and mating status were examined at the light microscopical as well as the ultrastructural level. The results clearly show a high activity of the gland at the time of hatching, followed by a rapid degeneration independent of the queens' mating status. We therefore hypothesize the glandular secretion serves to stimulate workers to remove the queens' pupal skin. Experiments to compare hatching ability of isolated pupae and pupae assisted by workers confirmed the necessity of worker assistance, which is even more crucial to allow proper wing formation in queens and males. Together with the histological data, this suggests that the mandibular gland may indeed play a role in the social facilitation of hatching, although bioassays are required to give decisive answers about the mandibular gland's function.

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“…Several studies with mandible glands on ants have shown that they perform defensive alarm functions (Billen et al, ; Fales et al, ), although other functions have already been attributed to these glands as a source of sex pheromones (Gracioli, Moraes, & Cruz‐Landim, ), repellency of other insects (Brough, ), and inhibition of fungi (Akino, Turushima, & Yamaoka, ; Marsaro Jr, Della‐Lucia, Barbosa, Maffia, & Morandi, ) and bacteria (Brough, ). For the species P. clavata , the probable functions of the mandibular gland remain unproven.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Morphology of the mandibular gland of the ant Paraponera clavata (Hymenoptera: Paraponerinae)

Andrade

Gonçalves

Serrão

et al. 2019

Microscopy Res & Technique

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The ant Paraponera clavata (Fabricius, 1775) is the only extant species of Paraponerinae and is widely distributed in Brazilian forests. Aspects of its biology are documented extensively in the literature; however, knowledge of P. clavata internal morphology, specifically of exocrine glands, is restricted to the venom apparatus. The objective of this study was to describe the mandibular gland morphology of P. clavata workers. The mandibular gland is composed of a reservoir connected to a cluster of Type III secretory cells with cytoplasm rich in mitochondria and lipid droplets, similar to that of other ants. Notably, the glandular secretion is rich in protein and has a solid aspect. This is the first morphological description of the mandibular gland of P. clavata. Research Highlights This study presents the morphological description of the mandibular gland of Paraponera clavata (Hymenoptera: Paraponerinae). Singular characteristics of the gland are described: the glandular secretion is rich in protein and has a solid aspect.

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Ultrastructural aspects of the mandibular gland of Melipona bicolor Lepeletier, 1836 (Hymenoptera: Apidae, Meliponini) in the castes

Cited by 12 publications

References 13 publications

The chemical composition of the mandibular gland secretion of Melipona bicolor Lepeletier, 1836 (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Meliponini): a comparative study among castes and sexes

The chemical composition of the mandibular gland secretion of Melipona bicolor Lepeletier, 1836 (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Meliponini): a comparative study among castes and sexes

Functional morphology of the mandibular gland of queens of the ant Monomorium pharaonis (L.)

Morphology of the mandibular gland of the ant Paraponera clavata (Hymenoptera: Paraponerinae)

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