Task allocation and interactions among females in Euglossa carolina nests (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Euglossini)

Abstract

-Multifemale nests of Euglossa carolina were studied to investigate task allocation during nest reactivations according to both the females' size and order of emergence. The study was carried out at the campus of the University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil, from January, 1990 to March, 1992. The activities of the females were recorded during the reactivation processes in eight nests maintained in observation boxes. The size of each female was determined by measuring the forewing length and the maximum width of the head. Nest reactivations were performed by one or more females in the presence or absence of a female that had participated in a previous reactivation process. Usually, the first emerging females remained in the nests and established associations in which the oldest became dominant. All nestmates had mated, and developed ovaries and did not differ in size. Task allocation was recognized by behavioral characteristics, namely, agonism and oophagy in cells oviposited by other females.Euglossa / reproductive skew / oophagy / social structure / task allocation

Multifemale nests and social behavior in Euglossa melanotricha (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Euglossini)

“…This condition could help maintain social cohesion in multifemale nests and lead to long-lived colonies through successive reactivation (Augusto and Garófalo 2010), as reported by Garófalo (1987).…”

“…This behavior is characterized by two components: reproductive, with the dominant female replacing subordinate's eggs (daughters' or younger sisters' eggs) with her own, and behavioral, with the dominant exhibiting agonistic behavior towards the subordinate. In addition, the dominant female rarely leaves the nest and becomes the main guard bee, while the subordinate females assume the tasks of collecting resin, constructing or reusing cells, and provisioning and ovipositing in them (Garófalo 1985, Augusto andGarófalo 2010).…”

Multiple Aggressions Among Nestmates Lead to Weak Dominance Hampering Primitively Eusocial Behaviour in an Orchid Bee

“…This hierarchy reflected the distribution of eggs and brood cells: the brood cluster of the oldest female (1) was the largest (six cells) compared to the other tracked females whose brood cluster varied from one to five cells. Brood cluster size and aggression between nestmates has been correlated in different bee societies (Batra, 1978;Kukuk, 1992;Moritz & Neumann, 2004;Augusto & Garófalo, 2010;Rehan & Richards, 2013). In the current study as all females behaved as foragers and they also layed eggs, the total costs per nest involved to produced an offspring might be higher when compared to eusocial species in which the dominant female is far less prone to be predated, since it rarely leaves the nest.…”

Reproductive regulation in an orchid bee: social context, fertility and chemical signalling

“…The orchid bees (tribe Euglossini) are considered a key group for understanding the evolution of eusociality in the corbiculates (Apini þ Meliponini þ Bombini), because they range from solitary to communal to primitively eusocial species (Augusto & Gar ofalo, 2010;Cardinal & Danforth, 2011;Cocom Pech, de J. May-Itz a, Medina Medina, & Quezada-Eu an, 2008;Soucy, Giray, & Roubik, 2003). Previous studies have speculated that solitary behaviour in the orchid bees would be an evolutionary reversion, with some Euglossa species retaining some eusocial traits (Cardinal & Danforth, 2011).…”