TAXONOMIC POTENTIAL OF THE CHEMICAL CONSTITUENTS IN THE CEPHALIC MARKING SECRETIONS OF BOMBUS AND PSITHYRUS SPECIES (HYMENOPTERA, APIDAE) : A NUMERICAL TAXONOMIC STUDY

Abstract

A tentative study of the chemotaxonomic potential of the cephalic marking secretions of Bombus and Psithyrus species is presented, using numerical taxonomy methods. Thirty one chemical compounds previously reported by other authors were used as taxonomic characters for a sample of 13 species of Bombus and 6 of Psithyrus. The species of these two genera appeared mixed in those dendrograms which include the whole sample, thus suggesting a selection of Psithyrus for similarity to Bombus in order to improve their ability for parasitization, rather than phyletic relationships between both genera. Cluster analysis of Bombus species showed a quite clean discrimination between the two classical sections Odontobombus and Anodontobombus and, in some cases, the results were consistent with classical classification at lower levels, for example, in the species of the Terrestribombus group.