A behavioral study of intraspecific queen parasitism in Melipona stingless bees using radio frequency identification tags

• Grant number: 11/21084-2
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Visiting Researcher Grant - International
• Start date: February 06, 2012
• End date: February 19, 2012
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Animal Behavior
• Principal Investigator: Denise de Araujo Alves
• Grantee: Denise de Araujo Alves
• Visiting researcher: Tom Wenseleers
• Visiting researcher institution: University of Leuven, Leuven (KU Leuven), Belgium
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto (FFCLRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 10/10027-5 - Behavioural mediation, chemical signalisation and physiological aspects regulating the social organization in hymenopterans, AP.JP

Abstract

Insect societies are characterized by advanced co-operation, but at the same time the complexity of their colonies renders them susceptible to reproductive parasitism. In recent years, intraspecific worker parasitism, whereby workers penetrate and reproduce in other unrelated colonies, has been documented in various social insect groups. By contract, evidence for intraspecific queen parasitism is more scant. In the context of a collaborative project between the University of São Paulo (Dr. Denise Alves) and the University of Leuven, however, we recently discovered an intriguing instance of intraspecific queen parasitism in the Brazilian stingless bee Melipona scutellaris (Wenseleers, Alves et al. 2011). Based on genetic evidence, this study suggested that after the death of the mother queen, stingless bee colonies are frequently invaded by unrelated queens that fly in from elsewhere. Direct behavioural data on this intriguing phenomenon, however, are as yet limited. In this project, in association with Dr. Alves current post-doctoral project (granted by FAPESP), we will investigate intraspecific queen parasitism in Melipona bees in greater detail in order: 1) to find out whether parasitic queens are able to actively seek out queenless colonies, and; 2) whether a reduced guarding efficiency might play a role in the susceptibility of queenless colonies to reproductive queen parasitism. This will be studied using cutting-edge radio frequency identification tag (RFID) tracking technology, which Prof. Wenseleers will bring from Belgium, and which will enable us to study the drifting patterns of queens among our experimental Melipona colonies. The results of our project are expected to be important in the context of stingless bee breeding programmes, whereby stingless bees are selected for particular desirable traits such as heat resistance, as such programmers have so far assumed that newly established queens are always the offspring of the superseded queen. By documenting that this may not always be the case, our project would suggest that prevailing breeding practices would have to significantly revised. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

VAN OYSTAEYEN, ANNETTE; ALVES, DENISE ARAUJO; OLIVEIRA, RICARDO CALIARI; DO NASCIMENTO, DANIELA LIMA; DO NASCIMENTO, FABIO SANTOS; BILLEN, JOHAN; WENSELEERS, TOM. Sneaky queens in Melipona bees selectively detect and infiltrate queenless colonies. ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR, v. 86, n. 3, p. 603-609, SEP 2013. (10/19717-4, 11/21084-2, 10/10027-5)