Chemical Signals in the Stingless Bee, Frieseomelitta varia, Indicate Caste, Gender, Age, and Reproductive Status

Chemical compounds on the cuticle are a rich source of information used during interactions among social insects. Despite the multitude of studies on these substances and their function in ants, wasps, and honeybees, little is known about this subject in stingless bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae, Meliponi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of chemical ecology 2009-10, Vol.35 (10), p.1172-1180
Main Authors: Nunes, Túlio M, Turatti, Izabel C. C, Lopes, Norberto P, Zucchi, Ronaldo
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
age
Aging
Agriculture
Alkenes
Animal and plant ecology
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Animals
Apidae
Apis mellifera
Autoecology
Bees
Bees - chemistry
Bees - physiology
Biochemistry
Biological and medical sciences
Biological Microscopy
Biomedical and Life Sciences
caste determination
chemical composition
Chemicals
cuticular hydrocarbons
Discriminant Analysis
Ecology
Entomology
Female
Formicidae
Frieseomelitta
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Gas chromatography
Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry
gender differences
Hydrocarbons
Hydrocarbons - analysis
Hymenoptera
insect castes
insect cuticle
insect reproduction
Life Sciences
Male
Mass spectrometry
Meliponini
Phenotype
Protozoa. Invertebrata
queen insects
Reproduction
semiochemicals
Sex
Skin - chemistry
Social Dominance
social insects
stingless bees
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Summary:Chemical compounds on the cuticle are a rich source of information used during interactions among social insects. Despite the multitude of studies on these substances and their function in ants, wasps, and honeybees, little is known about this subject in stingless bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae, Meliponini). We studied the chemical composition of the cuticle of the stingless bee, Frieseomelitta varia, by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), to investigate potential chemical variation among castes, gender, age, and reproductive status. We found differences in the cuticular hydrocarbon composition among workers, males, and queens, recording both qualitative and quantitative differences among individuals of different ages and gender. The cuticle of physogastric queens presented a chemical profile that was distinct from all other groups in the analysis, with high relative abundances of alkenes and alkadienes with 27, 29, and 31 carbon atoms. We discuss the possibility that these compounds signal a queen's presence to the colony, thereby initiating all vital worker-queen interactions.
ISSN:0098-0331
1573-1561
DOI:10.1007/s10886-009-9691-8