2 research outputs found
Patterns of male production in the stingless bee Melipona favosa (Apidae, Meliponini)
In many stingless bee species, laying workers oviposit trophic eggs that serve
as a component of the queen's diet. Workers of some species also lay reproductive
worker eggs that give rise to males. Male-producing workers can occur in queenright
colonies. We studied male production by workers of Melipona favosa. In six colonies
monitored under field conditions, we observed that males emerged during distinct
“Male Emerging Periods”. Subsequently, we studied the laying of male eggs in laboratory
observation hives with the use of video. We found that laying workers oviposited
reproductive eggs in distinct “Reproductive Laying Worker Periods” and that this was
followed by the clumped mergence of males afterwards. Behaviours of laying workers
and of the ovipositing queen are preliminarily described