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Melet A, Leibold V, Schmitt T, Biedermann PHW. Highly diverse cuticular hydrocarbon profiles but no evidence for aggression towards non-kin in the ambrosia beetle Xyleborinus saxesenii. Ecol Evol 2024; 14:e11274. [PMID: 38654710 PMCID: PMC11036074 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.11274] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2023] [Revised: 03/25/2024] [Accepted: 04/02/2024] [Indexed: 04/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Animal societies use nestmate recognition to protect against social cheaters and parasites. In most social insect societies, individuals recognize and exclude any non-nestmates and the roles of cuticular hydrocarbons as recognition cues are well documented. Some ambrosia beetles live in cooperatively breeding societies with farmed fungus cultures that are challenging to establish, but of very high value once established. Hence, social cheaters that sneak into a nest without paying the costs of nest foundation may be selected. Therefore, nestmate recognition is also expected to exist in ambrosia beetles, but so far nobody has investigated this behavior and its underlying mechanisms. Here we studied the ability for nestmate recognition in the cooperatively breeding ambrosia beetle Xyleborinus saxesenii, combining behavioural observations and cuticular hydrocarbon analyses. Laboratory nests of X. saxesenii were exposed to foreign adult females from the same population, another population and another species. Survival as well as the behaviours of the foreign female were observed. The behaviours of the receiving individuals were also observed. We expected that increasing genetic distance would cause increasing distance in chemical profiles and increasing levels of behavioural exclusion and possibly mortality. Chemical profiles differed between populations and appeared as variable as in other highly social insects. However, we found only very little evidence for the behavioural exclusion of foreign individuals. Interpopulation donors left nests at a higher rate than control donors, but neither their behaviours nor the behaviours of receiver individuals within the nest showed any response to the foreign individual in either of the treatments. These results suggest that cuticular hydrocarbon profiles might be used for communication and nestmate recognition, but that behavioural exclusion of non-nestmates is either absent in X. saxesenii or that agonistic encounters are so rare or subtle that they could not be detected by our method. Additional studies are needed to investigate this further.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antoine Melet
- Chair of Forest Entomology and Protection, Faculty of Environment and Natural ResourcesAlbert‐Ludwigs‐UniversitätFreiburgGermany
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, BiocentreUniversity of WürzburgWürzburgGermany
| | - Viesturs Leibold
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, BiocentreUniversity of WürzburgWürzburgGermany
| | - Thomas Schmitt
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, BiocentreUniversity of WürzburgWürzburgGermany
| | - Peter H. W. Biedermann
- Chair of Forest Entomology and Protection, Faculty of Environment and Natural ResourcesAlbert‐Ludwigs‐UniversitätFreiburgGermany
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, BiocentreUniversity of WürzburgWürzburgGermany
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2
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Morris-Drake A, Kennedy P, Braga Goncalves I, Radford AN. Variation between species, populations, groups and individuals in the fitness consequences of out-group conflict. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2022; 377:20210148. [PMID: 35369741 PMCID: PMC8977661 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Out-group conflict is rife in the natural world, occurring from primates to ants. Traditionally, research on this aspect of sociality has focused on the interactions between groups and their conspecific rivals, investigating contest function and characteristics, which group members participate and what determines who wins. In recent years, however, there has been increasing interest in the consequences of out-group conflict. In this review, we first set the scene by outlining the fitness consequences that can arise immediately to contest participants, as well as a broader range of delayed, cumulative and third-party effects of out-group conflict on survival and reproductive success. For the majority of the review, we then focus on variation in these fitness consequences of out-group conflict, describing known examples both between species and between populations, groups and individuals of the same species. Throughout, we suggest possible reasons for the variation, provide examples from a diverse array of taxa, and suggest what is needed to advance this burgeoning area of social evolution. This article is part of the theme issue 'Intergroup conflict across taxa'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amy Morris-Drake
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
| | - Patrick Kennedy
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
| | - Ines Braga Goncalves
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
| | - Andrew N Radford
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
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3
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Oliveira RC, Di Pietro V, Quezada-Euán JJG, Pech JR, Moo-Valle H, Wenseleers T. Tragedy of the commons in Melipona bees revisited. Biol Lett 2022; 18:20210498. [PMID: 35078331 PMCID: PMC8790378 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2021.0498] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2021] [Accepted: 12/06/2021] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Melipona stingless bees display a paradoxical overproduction of queens, which are later eliminated by nest-mate workers. Mechanistically, it was suggested that the monoterpenoid geraniol deposited into newly provisioned cells by adult bees would cause larvae to develop into queens in Melipona beecheii. This system could be evolutionarily stable if many of these new queens were to leave the nest and parasitize other genetically unrelated colonies nearby, as was shown to occur in a congeneric species. Here, we use microsatellite markers to test whether queen overproduction could be a strategy by which adult workers control the caste fate of the developing larvae to export copies of their own genes to the rest of the population via queen parasitism in M. beecheii. In addition, we re-examined whether artificially increasing the levels of geraniol indeed caused larvae to develop as queens rather than workers. Contrary to our prediction, we found no evidence for queen parasitism in M. beecheii and observed no effect of geraniol on the rearing of new queens. Together, these results support the original 'tragedy of the commons' hypothesis for queen overproduction in Melipona bees, where individual larvae selfishly bias their development towards the queen pathway according to their best evolutionary interests.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ricardo Caliari Oliveira
- Laboratory of Socioecology and Social Evolution, Department of Biology, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Viviana Di Pietro
- Laboratory of Socioecology and Social Evolution, Department of Biology, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - José Javier G. Quezada-Euán
- Departamento de Apicultura Tropical, CCBA Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, km 15. Carr. Mérida-Xmatkuil, Cp. 97000 Mérida, Mexico
| | - Jorge Ramirez Pech
- Abejasmiel, Calle 41C #268 por 42 Y 46 Francisco de Montejo III, Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico
| | - Humberto Moo-Valle
- Departamento de Apicultura Tropical, CCBA Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, km 15. Carr. Mérida-Xmatkuil, Cp. 97000 Mérida, Mexico
| | - Tom Wenseleers
- Laboratory of Socioecology and Social Evolution, Department of Biology, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
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4
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Sun P, Yu S, Merchant A, Lei C, Zhou X, Huang Q. Downregulation of Orco and 5-HTT Alters Nestmate Discrimination in the Subterranean Termite Odontotermes formosanus (Shiraki). Front Physiol 2019; 10:714. [PMID: 31244679 PMCID: PMC6579916 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2019.00714] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2019] [Accepted: 05/23/2019] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Nestmate discrimination allows social insects to recognize nestmates from non-nestmates using colony-specific chemosensory cues, which typically evoke aggressive behavior toward non-nestmates. Functional analysis of genes associated with nestmate discrimination has been primarily focused on inter-colonial discrimination in Hymenopterans, and parallel studies in termites, however, are grossly lacking. To fill this gap, we investigated the role of two genes, Orco and 5-HTT, associated with chemosensation and neurotransmission respectively, in nestmate discrimination in a highly eusocial subterranean termite, Odontotermes formosanus (Shiraki). We hypothesized that knocking down of these genes will compromise the nestmate recognition and lead to the antagonistic behavior. To test this hypothesis, we carried out (1) an in vivo RNAi to suppress the expression of Orco and 5-HTT, respectively, (2) a validation study to examine the knockdown efficiency, and finally, (3) a behavioral assay to document the phenotypic impacts/behavioral consequences. As expected, the suppression of either of these two genes elevated stress level (e.g., vibrations and retreats), and led to aggressive behaviors (e.g., biting) in O. formosanus workers toward their nestmates, suggesting both Orco and 5-HTT can modulate nestmate discrimination in termites. This research links chemosensation and neurotransmission with nestmate discrimination at the genetic basis, and lays the foundation for functional analyses of nestmate discrimination in termites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pengdong Sun
- Hubei Insect Resources Utilization and Sustainable Pest Management Key Laboratory, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Shuxin Yu
- Hubei Insect Resources Utilization and Sustainable Pest Management Key Laboratory, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Austin Merchant
- Department of Entomology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, United States
| | - Chaoliang Lei
- Hubei Insect Resources Utilization and Sustainable Pest Management Key Laboratory, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Xuguo Zhou
- Department of Entomology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, United States
| | - Qiuying Huang
- Hubei Insect Resources Utilization and Sustainable Pest Management Key Laboratory, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
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5
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Grüter C, Jongepier E, Foitzik S. Insect societies fight back: the evolution of defensive traits against social parasites. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2018; 373:20170200. [PMID: 29866913 PMCID: PMC6000133 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2017.0200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/31/2017] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Insect societies face many social parasites that exploit their altruistic behaviours or their resources. Due to the fitness costs these social parasites incur, hosts have evolved various behavioural, chemical, architectural and morphological defence traits. Similar to bacteria infecting multicellular hosts, social parasites have to successfully go through several steps to exploit their hosts. Here, we review how social insects try to interrupt this sequence of events. They can avoid parasite contact by choosing to nest in parasite-free locales or evade attacks by adapting their colony structure. Once social parasites attack, hosts attempt to detect them, which can be facilitated by adjustments in colony odour. If social parasites enter the nest, hosts can either aggressively defend their colony or take their young and flee. Nest structures are often shaped to prevent social parasite invasion or to safeguard host resources. Finally, if social parasites successfully establish themselves in host nests, hosts can rebel by killing the parasite brood or by reproducing in the parasites' presence. Hosts of social parasites can therefore develop multiple traits, leading to the evolution of complex defence portfolios of co-dependent traits. Social parasites can respond to these multi-level defences with counter-adaptations, potentially leading to geographical mosaics of coevolution.This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue 'Evolution of pathogen and parasite avoidance behaviours'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christoph Grüter
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Johannes von Müller Weg 6, Mainz 55099, Germany
| | - Evelien Jongepier
- Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity, Westfälische Wilhelms University, Hüfferstrasse 1, 48149 Münster, Germany
| | - Susanne Foitzik
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Johannes von Müller Weg 6, Mainz 55099, Germany
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6
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Jaffé R, Pope N, Acosta AL, Alves DA, Arias MC, De la Rúa P, Francisco FO, Giannini TC, González-Chaves A, Imperatriz-Fonseca VL, Tavares MG, Jha S, Carvalheiro LG. Beekeeping practices and geographic distance, not land use, drive gene flow across tropical bees. Mol Ecol 2016; 25:5345-5358. [PMID: 27662098 DOI: 10.1111/mec.13852] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2016] [Revised: 09/02/2016] [Accepted: 09/15/2016] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Across the globe, wild bees are threatened by ongoing natural habitat loss, risking the maintenance of plant biodiversity and agricultural production. Despite the ecological and economic importance of wild bees and the fact that several species are now managed for pollination services worldwide, little is known about how land use and beekeeping practices jointly influence gene flow. Using stingless bees as a model system, containing wild and managed species that are presumed to be particularly susceptible to habitat degradation, here we examine the main drivers of tropical bee gene flow. We employ a novel landscape genetic approach to analyse data from 135 populations of 17 stingless bee species distributed across diverse tropical biomes within the Americas. Our work has important methodological implications, as we illustrate how a maximum-likelihood approach can be applied in a meta-analysis framework to account for multiple factors, and weight estimates by sample size. In contrast to previously held beliefs, gene flow was not related to body size or deforestation, and isolation by geographic distance (IBD) was significantly affected by management, with managed species exhibiting a weaker IBD than wild ones. Our study thus reveals the critical importance of beekeeping practices in shaping the patterns of genetic differentiation across bee species. Additionally, our results show that many stingless bee species maintain high gene flow across heterogeneous landscapes. We suggest that future efforts to preserve wild tropical bees should focus on regulating beekeeping practices to maintain natural gene flow and enhancing pollinator-friendly habitats, prioritizing species showing a limited dispersal ability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rodolfo Jaffé
- Vale Institute of Technology - Sustainable Development, Rua Boaventura da Silva 955, 66055-090, Belém, PA, Brazil. .,Department of Ecology, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua do Matão 321, 05508-090, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
| | - Nathaniel Pope
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas, 401 Biological Laboratories, Austin, TX, 78712, USA
| | - André L Acosta
- Department of Ecology, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua do Matão 321, 05508-090, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Denise A Alves
- Department of Entomology and Acarology, Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture, Universidade de São Paulo, Av Pádua Dias 11, 13418-900, Piracicaba, SP, Brazil
| | - Maria C Arias
- Department of Genetics and Evolutionary Biology, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua do Matão 321, 05508-090, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Pilar De la Rúa
- Department of Zoology and Physical Anthropology, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de Murcia, 30100, Murcia, Spain
| | - Flávio O Francisco
- Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Tereza C Giannini
- Vale Institute of Technology - Sustainable Development, Rua Boaventura da Silva 955, 66055-090, Belém, PA, Brazil.,Department of Ecology, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua do Matão 321, 05508-090, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Adrian González-Chaves
- Department of Ecology, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua do Matão 321, 05508-090, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Vera L Imperatriz-Fonseca
- Vale Institute of Technology - Sustainable Development, Rua Boaventura da Silva 955, 66055-090, Belém, PA, Brazil.,Department of Ecology, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua do Matão 321, 05508-090, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Mara G Tavares
- Department of General Biology, Federal University of Viçosa, Av. P H Rolfs, s/n, 36570-000, Viçosa, MG, Brazil
| | - Shalene Jha
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas, 401 Biological Laboratories, Austin, TX, 78712, USA
| | - Luísa G Carvalheiro
- Department of Ecology, Universidade de Brasília, 70910-900, Brasília, DF, Brazil.,Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes (CE3C), Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, 1749-016, Lisboa, Portugal
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7
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Leonhardt SD, Menzel F, Nehring V, Schmitt T. Ecology and Evolution of Communication in Social Insects. Cell 2016; 164:1277-1287. [PMID: 26967293 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2016.01.035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 186] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2015] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Insect life strategies comprise all levels of sociality from solitary to eusocial, in which individuals form persistent groups and divide labor. With increasing social complexity, the need to communicate a greater diversity of messages arose to coordinate division of labor, group cohesion, and concerted actions. Here we summarize the knowledge on prominent messages in social insects that inform about reproduction, group membership, resource locations, and threats and discuss potential evolutionary trajectories of each message in the context of social complexity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Diana Leonhardt
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, University of Würzburg, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Florian Menzel
- Evolutionary Biology, Institute of Zoology, University of Mainz, 55128 Mainz, Germany
| | - Volker Nehring
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Animal Ecology, University of Freiburg, 79104 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Thomas Schmitt
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, University of Würzburg, 97074 Würzburg, Germany.
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8
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Gutiérrez E, Ruiz D, Solís T, May-Itzá WDJ, Moo-Valle H, Quezada-Euán JJG. Does larval food affect cuticular profiles and recognition in eusocial bees? a test on Scaptotrigona gynes (Hymenoptera: Meliponini). Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-016-2109-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
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9
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Roselino AC, Hrncir M, da Cruz Landim C, Giurfa M, Sandoz JC. Sexual dimorphism and phenotypic plasticity in the antennal lobe of a stingless bee,Melipona scutellaris. J Comp Neurol 2015; 523:1461-73. [DOI: 10.1002/cne.23744] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2014] [Revised: 12/03/2014] [Accepted: 01/09/2015] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Ana Carolina Roselino
- Departamento de Biologia, Instituto de Biociências de Rio Claro; Universidade Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho; Rio Claro São Paulo 13506-900 Brazil
- Faculté des Sciences d'Orsay; Université Paris-Sud; Orsay cedex 91405 France
- Evolution, Genomes, Behavior and Ecology Lab; CNRS, Université Paris-Sud, IRD (UMR 9191); Gif-sur-Yvette 91198 France
| | - Michael Hrncir
- Departamento de Ciências Animais; Universidade Federal Rural do Semi-Árido; Mossoró 59625-900 Brazil
| | - Carminda da Cruz Landim
- Departamento de Biologia, Instituto de Biociências de Rio Claro; Universidade Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho; Rio Claro São Paulo 13506-900 Brazil
| | - Martin Giurfa
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS); Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale; 31062 Toulouse cedex 9 France
- Université de Toulouse (UPS); Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale; 31062 Toulouse cedex 9 France
| | - Jean-Christophe Sandoz
- Evolution, Genomes, Behavior and Ecology Lab; CNRS, Université Paris-Sud, IRD (UMR 9191); Gif-sur-Yvette 91198 France
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10
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Jaffé R, Pope N, Carvalho AT, Maia UM, Blochtein B, de Carvalho CAL, Carvalho-Zilse GA, Freitas BM, Menezes C, de Fátima Ribeiro M, Venturieri GC, Imperatriz-Fonseca VL. Bees for development: Brazilian survey reveals how to optimize stingless beekeeping. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0121157. [PMID: 25826402 PMCID: PMC4380461 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0121157] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2014] [Accepted: 01/28/2015] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Stingless bees are an important asset to assure plant biodiversity in many natural ecosystems, and fulfill the growing agricultural demand for pollination. However, across developing countries stingless beekeeping remains an essentially informal activity, technical knowledge is scarce, and management practices lack standardization. Here we profited from the large diversity of stingless beekeepers found in Brazil to assess the impact of particular management practices on productivity and economic revenues from the commercialization of stingless bee products. Our study represents the first large-scale effort aiming at optimizing stingless beekeeping for honey/colony production based on quantitative data. Survey data from 251 beekeepers scattered across 20 Brazilian States revealed the influence of specific management practices and other confounding factors over productivity and income indicators. Specifically, our results highlight the importance of teaching beekeepers how to inspect and feed their colonies, how to multiply them and keep track of genetic lineages, how to harvest and preserve the honey, how to use vinegar traps to control infestation by parasitic flies, and how to add value by labeling honey containers. Furthermore, beekeeping experience and the network of known beekeepers were found to be key factors influencing productivity and income. Our work provides clear guidelines to optimize stingless beekeeping and help transform the activity into a powerful tool for sustainable development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rodolfo Jaffé
- Departamento de Ecologia, Universidade de São Paulo. Rua do Matão 321, São Paulo-SP, Brazil
| | - Nathaniel Pope
- Department of Integrative Biology, 401 Biological Laboratories, University of Texas, Austin, Texas, United States of America
| | - Airton Torres Carvalho
- Departamento de Ciências Animais, Universidade Federal Rural do Semi-Árido, Avenida Francisco Mota 572, Mossoró-RN, Brazil
| | - Ulysses Madureira Maia
- Departamento de Ciências Animais, Universidade Federal Rural do Semi-Árido, Avenida Francisco Mota 572, Mossoró-RN, Brazil
| | - Betina Blochtein
- Laboratório de Entomologia, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Av. Ipiranga, 6681, Caixa Postal 1429, Porto Alegre-RS, Brazil
| | | | - Gislene Almeida Carvalho-Zilse
- Grupo de Pesquisas em Abelhas, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Avenida André Araújo 2936, Caixa Postal 478, Manaus-AM, Brazil
| | - Breno Magalhães Freitas
- Departamento de Zootecnia—CCA, Universidade Federal do Ceará. Campus Universitário do Pici, Bloco 808, Fortaleza-CE, Brazil
| | - Cristiano Menezes
- Embrapa Amazônia Oriental, Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária, Belém-PA, Brazil
| | | | | | - Vera Lucia Imperatriz-Fonseca
- Departamento de Ecologia, Universidade de São Paulo. Rua do Matão 321, São Paulo-SP, Brazil
- Departamento de Ciências Animais, Universidade Federal Rural do Semi-Árido, Avenida Francisco Mota 572, Mossoró-RN, Brazil
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11
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Cunningham JP, Hereward JP, Heard TA, De Barro PJ, West SA. Bees at War: Interspecific Battles and Nest Usurpation in Stingless Bees. Am Nat 2014; 184:777-86. [DOI: 10.1086/678399] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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12
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Monogamy in large bee societies: a stingless paradox. THE SCIENCE OF NATURE - NATURWISSENSCHAFTEN 2014; 101:261-4. [PMID: 24463620 DOI: 10.1007/s00114-014-1149-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2013] [Revised: 01/10/2014] [Accepted: 01/13/2014] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
High genetic diversity is important for the functioning of large insect societies. Across the social Hymenoptera (ants, bees, and wasps), species with the largest colonies tend to have a high colony-level genetic diversity resulting from multiple queens (polygyny) or queens that mate with multiple males (polyandry). Here we studied the genetic structure of Trigona spinipes, a stingless bee species with colonies an order of magnitude larger than those of polyandrous honeybees. Genotypes of adult workers and pupae from 43 nests distributed across three Brazilian biomes showed that T. spinipes colonies are usually headed by one singly mated queen. Apart from revealing a notable exception from the general incidence of high genetic diversity in large insect societies, our results reinforce previous findings suggesting the absence of polyandry in stingless bees and provide evidence against the sperm limitation hypothesis for the evolution of polyandry. Stingless bee species with large colonies, such as T. spinipes, thus seem promising study models to unravel alternative mechanisms to increase genetic diversity within colonies or understand the adaptive value of low genetic diversity in large insect societies.
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Van Oystaeyen A, Araujo Alves D, Caliari Oliveira R, Lima do Nascimento D, Santos do Nascimento F, Billen J, Wenseleers T. Sneaky queens in Melipona bees selectively detect and infiltrate queenless colonies. Anim Behav 2013. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2013.07.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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14
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Kärcher MH, Menezes C, Alves DA, Beveridge OS, Imperatriz-Fonseca VL, Ratnieks FLW. Factors influencing survival duration and choice of virgin queens in the stingless bee Melipona quadrifasciata. Naturwissenschaften 2013; 100:571-80. [PMID: 23666065 DOI: 10.1007/s00114-013-1053-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2012] [Revised: 04/22/2013] [Accepted: 04/25/2013] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
In Melipona quadrifasciata, about 10% of the females develop into queens, almost all of which are killed. Occasionally, a new queen replaces or supersedes the mother queen or heads a new colony. We investigated virgin queen fate in queenright and queenless colonies to determine the effects of queen behaviour, body mass, nestmate or non-nestmate status, queenright or queenless colony status, and, when queenless, the effect of the time a colony had been queenless, on survival duration and acceptance. None of 220 virgin queens observed in four observation hives ever attacked another virgin queen nor did any of 88 virgin queens introduced into queenright colonies ever attack the resident queen. A new queen was only accepted in a queenless colony. Factors increasing survival duration and acceptance of virgin queens were to emerge from its cell at 2 h of queenlessness, to hide, and to avoid fights with workers. In this way, a virgin queen was more likely to be available when a colony chooses a new queen, 24-48 h after resident queen removal. Running, walking or resting, antennating or trophallaxis, played little or no role, as did the factors body mass or nestmate. "Queen choice" took about 2 h during which time other virgin queens were still being killed by workers. During this agitated process, the bees congregated around the new queen. She inflated her abdomen and some of the workers deposited a substance on internal nest surfaces including the glass lid of the observation hive.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin H Kärcher
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK.
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Nascimento DL, Nascimento FS. Acceptance threshold hypothesis is supported by chemical similarity of cuticular hydrocarbons in a stingless bee, Melipona asilvai. J Chem Ecol 2012; 38:1432-40. [PMID: 23053920 DOI: 10.1007/s10886-012-0194-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2012] [Revised: 08/21/2012] [Accepted: 09/08/2012] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
The ability to discriminate nestmates from non-nestmates in insect societies is essential to protect colonies from conspecific invaders. The acceptance threshold hypothesis predicts that organisms whose recognition systems classify recipients without errors should optimize the balance between acceptance and rejection. In this process, cuticular hydrocarbons play an important role as cues of recognition in social insects. The aims of this study were to determine whether guards exhibit a restrictive level of rejection towards chemically distinct individuals, becoming more permissive during the encounters with either nestmate or non-nestmate individuals bearing chemically similar profiles. The study demonstrates that Melipona asilvai (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Meliponini) guards exhibit a flexible system of nestmate recognition according to the degree of chemical similarity between the incoming forager and its own cuticular hydrocarbons profile. Guards became less restrictive in their acceptance rates when they encounter non-nestmates with highly similar chemical profiles, which they probably mistake for nestmates, hence broadening their acceptance level.
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Affiliation(s)
- D L Nascimento
- Departamento de Biologia, Universidade de São Paulo, FFCLRP, Av. Bandeirantes 3900, 14040-901, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil
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Alves DA, Imperatriz-Fonseca VL, Francoy TM, Santos-Filho PS, Billen J, Wenseleers T. Successful maintenance of a stingless bee population despite a severe genetic bottleneck. CONSERV GENET 2010. [DOI: 10.1007/s10592-010-0171-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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