Intratribal Variation among Mature Larvae of Stingless Bees (Apidae: Meliponini) with Descriptions of the Eggs of 11 Species

Author(s)

Rozen, Jr., Jerome G. ^[1] ; Almeida, Eduardo A. B. ^[2] ; Smith, Corey Shepard ^[1] ; Jones, Lance Eric ^[1]

Affiliation

^[1] Amer Museum Nat Hist, Div Invertebrate Zool, New York, NY 10024 - USA

^[2] Univ Sao Paulo, Dept Biol, FFCLRP, Ribeirao Preto, SP - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: American Museum Novitates; n. 3971 JUN 28 2021.
• Web of Science Citations: 0

Abstract

The abundant members of the Meliponini (stingless bees) are restricted to the tropics and subtropics worldwide. Because past studies of the anatomy of their mature larvae are limited, revealing little anatomical variation in the tribe, the current investigation attempts to examine this topic more thoroughly. Herein we describe the mature larvae of 30 species representing 16 genera of a total world fauna of perhaps 32 genera. Although the larvae of most taxa show little anatomical diversity, two species, Trigona (Duckeola) ghilianii Spinola and Trigona (Frieseomelitta) varia (Lepeletier), have mature larvae that differ remarkably in anatomical structure from those of other known stingless bees, and, further, their individual anatomies suggest a close evolutionary relationship. Larval evidence is presented indicating that Trichotrigona extranea (Camargo and Moure) is also related to these two taxa. Because eggs are often included in collections of bee larvae, this study adds descriptions of the eggs of 11 species of the Meliponini not previously characterized as well as a list of those that had been treated earlier. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 18/09666-5 - Phylogenomic systematics, comparative morphology and biogeography of bees (Hymenoptera: Anthophila)
• Grantee: Eduardo Andrade Botelho de Almeida
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants