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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Oct 3, 2025

Induction and Evaluation of Inbreeding Crosses Using the Ant, Vollenhovia Emeryi
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Queens remate despite traumatic mating in stingless bees.

Jamille Costa Veiga1,2, Gustavo Rodrigo Sanches Ruiz3, Gislene Almeida Carvalho-Zilse4

  • 1Bee Biology and Ecology Lab, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém, 66075-110 Pará, Brazil.

Current Zoology
|February 16, 2022
PubMed
Summary

Male genital plugs in stingless bees can impede rival access but don't always prevent queens from remating. Mating plug persistence varies by species, influencing reproductive strategies.

Keywords:
copulatory marksfacultative polyandrygenital morphologymale harmsexual conflict

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Area of Science:

  • * Entomology
  • * Evolutionary Biology
  • * Behavioral Ecology

Background:

  • * Male genital plugs are known to control female reproduction in social insects.
  • * In stingless bees, plugs are thought to promote ovarian activity and ensure single mating.
  • * Limited understanding exists on the relationship between mating plugs, traumatic mating, and mating systems in stingless bees.

Purpose of the Study:

  • * To investigate patterns of copulatory marks on mated queens across seven Neotropical stingless bee species.
  • * To examine the functional morphology of mating plugs by comparing male and female genitalia before and after mating in *Melipona fasciculata*.
  • * To clarify the role of mating plugs in the mating systems of stingless bees.

Main Methods:

  • * Comparative analysis of mated queens from seven Neotropical stingless bee species.
  • * Morphological examination of male and female genitalia in *Melipona fasciculata* pre- and post-mating.
  • * Observation and documentation of copulatory marks and plug retention in females.

Main Results:

  • * Unprecedented observation of characteristic marks left by mating plugs on female stingless bee abdomens.
  • * In *Melipona fasciculata*, queens retain mating plugs for extended periods, potentially lifelong.
  • * Short-term plug retention observed in six other species; remated queens found only in *M. seminigra*.
  • * Male genital morphology appears to influence mating plug persistence duration.

Conclusions:

  • * Traumatic mating plugs do not completely prevent remating in stingless bees.
  • * Mating systems in stingless bees are not uniform, with instances of facultative polyandry.
  • * The efficiency of mating plugs may correlate with the general tendency for single mating in social insects.