Patterns of male production in the stingless bee Melipona favosa (Apidae, Meliponini)

Abstract

In many stingless bee species, laying workers oviposit trophic eggs that serve as a component of the queen's diet. Workers of some species also lay reproductive worker eggs that give rise to males. Male-producing workers can occur in queenright colonies. We studied male production by workers of Melipona favosa. In six colonies monitored under field conditions, we observed that males emerged during distinct "Male Emerging Periods". Subsequently, we studied the laying of male eggs in laboratory observation hives with the use of video. We found that laying workers oviposited reproductive eggs in distinct "Reproductive Laying Worker Periods" and that this was followed by the clumped mergence of males afterwards. Behaviours of laying workers and of the ovipositing queen are preliminarily described.