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Intraspecific queen parasitism in a highly eusocial bee
Tom Wenseleers1, Denise A Alves, Tiago M Francoy
1Laboratory of Entomology, Zoological Institute, Catholic University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium. tom.wenseleers@bio.kuleuven.be
Biology Letters
|October 22, 2010
Summary
In stingless bees (Melipona scutellaris), unrelated queens invade and take over colonies after the mother queen dies. This novel social parasitism offers an alternative reproductive strategy for excess queens.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Evolutionary Biology
- Behavioral Ecology
Background:
- Insect societies exhibit complex cooperation but are susceptible to reproductive parasitism.
- The stingless bee Melipona scutellaris is a highly eusocial species.
- Reproductive strategies in social insects are diverse, including swarming and supersedure.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate intraspecific social parasitism in the stingless bee Melipona scutellaris.
- To provide genetic evidence for queen invasion and takeover of unrelated colonies.
- To explore the evolutionary drivers of this social parasitism.
Main Methods:
- Genetic analysis to identify relatedness between invading queens and colony members.
- Observation of colony dynamics following queen loss.
- Comparative analysis with other social bee reproductive strategies.
Main Results:
- Genetic evidence confirms that unrelated queens invade and take over Melipona scutellaris colonies upon queen loss.
- This invasion represents a novel form of intraspecific social parasitism.
- The excess production of new queens in Melipona bees likely drives this behavior.
Conclusions:
- Queens of highly eusocial bees can establish new colonies through infiltration and takeover of unrelated nests.
- This behavior expands the known repertoire of queen reproductive strategies in social bees.
- Intraspecific social parasitism is a significant factor in the social dynamics of Melipona scutellaris.
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