Morphology of mandibular and intramandibular glands in workers and virgin queens of Melipona scutellaris

The interactions of insect societies are associated with chemical signals released by the exocrine glands that control some insect behaviors. Exocrine glands can be classified into different classes: class I release substances that cross the body cuticle and class III glands that have a conducting c...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Apidologie 2015, Vol.46 (1), p.23-34
Main Authors: Santos, Douglas Elias, de Souza, Edmilson Amaral, Vieira, Carlos Ueira, Zanuncio, José Cola, Serrão, José Eduardo
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Entomology
epithelium
insect colonies
insects
Life Sciences
mandibular glands
Melipona scutellaris
mitochondria
Original Article
smooth endoplasmic reticulum
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Summary:The interactions of insect societies are associated with chemical signals released by the exocrine glands that control some insect behaviors. Exocrine glands can be classified into different classes: class I release substances that cross the body cuticle and class III glands that have a conducting canal. This study compares the morphology of intramandibular and mandibular glands in virgin queens of different ages, as well as in nurses and forager workers of Melipona scutellaris. We have found the occurrence of two types of glands inside the mandible; glands of class I, corresponding to a well-developed epithelium, secretory only in virgin queens, and glands of class III. On the other hand, mandibular glands have been found to be well-developed in workers and queens and they also have high amounts of mitochondria and smooth endoplasmic reticulum. Together, these data show that the mandibular and intramandibular glands of M. scutellaris virgin queens have morphological features that indicate the synthesis of compounds that are lipid in nature. Furthermore, both glands have a similar developmental degree in newly emerged and 7-day-old ones.
ISSN:0044-8435
1297-9678
DOI:10.1007/s13592-014-0301-6