Comparison of the size of eggs from Apis mellifera L queens and laying workers

Woyke, J.

doi:10.1051/apido:19940206

Cited by 13 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 3 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Few studies have addressed the evolutionary and ecological implications of egg size in social insects (Matsuura & Kobayashi, 2010;Villet, 1990), and our understanding of egg size variation in social insects, including the western honey Bee (Apis mellifera L.), is very limited. Some descriptive studies in honey bees exist, reporting variation between male and female eggs (Wegener, Lorenz, & Bienefeld, 2010;Woyke, 1994), across maternal ages (Al-Lawati & Bienefeld, 2009), castes (even though these differences might be functionally significant as well: Gençer & Woyke, 2006) and among seasons (Henderson, 1992). It was found that eggs from queens are longer but narrower compared to eggs from laying workers in the western honey bee (Woyke, 1994).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some descriptive studies in honey bees exist, reporting variation between male and female eggs (Wegener, Lorenz, & Bienefeld, 2010;Woyke, 1994), across maternal ages (Al-Lawati & Bienefeld, 2009), castes (even though these differences might be functionally significant as well: Gençer & Woyke, 2006) and among seasons (Henderson, 1992). It was found that eggs from queens are longer but narrower compared to eggs from laying workers in the western honey bee (Woyke, 1994). However, further experiments indicated that worker-laid eggs are longer, wider with larger volume and heavier than queen-laid eggs (Gençer & Woyke, 2006;Wegener et al, 2010).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Egg‐size plasticity in Apis mellifera: Honey bee queens alter egg size in response to both genetic and environmental factors

Amiri

Melendez

et al. 2020

J of Evolutionary Biology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Social evolution has led to distinct life‐history patterns in social insects, but many colony‐level and individual traits, such as egg size, are not sufficiently understood. Thus, a series of experiments was performed to study the effects of genotypes, colony size and colony nutrition on variation in egg size produced by honey bee (Apis mellifera) queens. Queens from different genetic stocks produced significantly different egg sizes under similar environmental conditions, indicating standing genetic variation for egg size that allows for adaptive evolutionary change. Further investigations revealed that eggs produced by queens in large colonies were consistently smaller than eggs produced in small colonies, and queens dynamically adjusted egg size in relation to colony size. Similarly, queens increased egg size in response to food deprivation. These results could not be solely explained by different numbers of eggs produced in the different circumstances but instead seem to reflect an active adjustment of resource allocation by the queen in response to colony conditions. As a result, larger eggs experienced higher subsequent survival than smaller eggs, suggesting that honey bee queens might increase egg size under unfavourable conditions to enhance brood survival and to minimize costly brood care of eggs that fail to successfully develop, and thus conserve energy at the colony level. The extensive plasticity and genetic variation of egg size in honey bees has important implications for understanding life‐history evolution in a social context and implies this neglected life‐history stage in honey bees may have trans‐generational effects.

show abstract

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Egg‐size plasticity in Apis mellifera: Honey bee queens alter egg size in response to both genetic and environmental factors

Amiri

Melendez

et al. 2020

J of Evolutionary Biology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In honeybees, egg size varies due to several factors: between castes, i.e. queen and workers (Woyke & Wongsiri, 1992;Woyke, 1994;Gençer & Woyke, 2006); according to seasons (Henderson, 1992); and due to changes in the metabolic process (Woyke, 1998). In stingless bees, eggs differ in size according to the species (Velthuis & Sommeijer, 1991), but there is little information on intra-specific variation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Untitled

2015

Sociobiology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

These studies reported that miniature mated queens occur naturally at a low frequency in the population and, at least for P. remota, they can be as efficient in laying eggs as typical-sized queens. Nevertheless, even when miniature queens lay the same amount of eggs as normal-sized queens, it is unknown whether the eggs of both queen morphotypes differ in size, and whether this variation is related to body size. In case the eggs produced by small queens are also small, this could result in smaller individuals, or when hatching out, the larvae would need larger amounts of food to develop into normal-sized adults. As suggested for honeybees (Henderson, 1992

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Size variation in eggs laid by normal-sized and miniature queens of Plebeia remota (Holmberg) (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Meliponini)

Ribeiro¹,

Filho²

2014

Sociobiology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Miniature stingless bee queens have been studied concerning frequency distribution, production and egg laying performance. This study aimed to investigate size variation in eggs laid by Plebeia remota (Holmberg) queens and whether it is due to differences in queen size or colony conditions. A sample of 10 queens (8 of typical size and 2 miniature) was measured morphometrically (head width, interorbital distance, and intertegular distance) as well the eggs they laid (length, width and volume). Initially, eggs were analyzed when laid by queens in their own colonies. Significant differences were found for length, width and volume of eggs considering the total group of queens or both queen morphotypes. However, no significant correlations were found between queen size and egg size. Afterwards, two experiments were performed to evaluate the influence of colony conditions on egg size. Firstly, we shifted the queens from their original colonies (i.e., a typical queen was placed into a miniature queen colony, and vice-versa). Secondly, they were put into another colony (both types of queens, one each time, were placed on a third colony, a 'host colony'). In all situations, both queen morphotypes laid eggs of similar or different sizes than before, often with significant differences. The results indicate that variation in egg size is due to conditions imposed to queens in the colony (e.g. queen feeding status, number of cells available to be oviposited), and not due to variation in queen body size.

show abstract

Comparison of the size of eggs from Apis mellifera L queens and laying workers

Cited by 13 publications

References 3 publications

Egg‐size plasticity in Apis mellifera: Honey bee queens alter egg size in response to both genetic and environmental factors

Egg‐size plasticity in Apis mellifera: Honey bee queens alter egg size in response to both genetic and environmental factors

Untitled

Size variation in eggs laid by normal-sized and miniature queens of Plebeia remota (Holmberg) (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Meliponini)

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About