In vitro breeding of queens of the bee Nannotrigona perilampoides (Cresson, 1878) (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Meliponinae): effect of food, age of workers and sterility

Authors

  • Armando Rubio El Colegio de la Frontera Sur (ECOSUR)
  • Daniel Sánchez Guillén El Colegio de la Frontera Sur
  • José Pablo Liedo Fernández El Colegio de la Frontera Sur
  • Erik de Jesús Solórzano Gordillo El Colegio de la Frontera Sur

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21829/azm.2024.4012626

Keywords:

mating; Meliponini; laboratory conditions; stingless bees; hive

Abstract

Despite stingless bees have significant ecological, economic, and cultural importance in tropical areas, they are not used extensively for crop pollination due to limitations in their reproduction on a large scale. Thus, the development of techniques for mass reproduction is crucial for their integration into agriculture. The objective of this work was to determine the effect of larval food quantity, workers age and sterility conditions on in vitro rearing of queens and their acceptance in mating nuclei, in the stingless bee Nannotrigona perilampoides, a stingless bee species used for tomato pollination in the southern-southeast region of Mexico. First instar larvae were placed in sterile 96-well plates, with 38, 40, 42, 44, 46 and 48 μl of larval food, and kept in controlled laboratory conditions. Emergency of queens ranged from 30 to 100%, and queen size correlated positively with the amount of food supplied. The optimal amount of larval food was found to be between 40 and 42 μl. Queens were accepted in all mating nuclei, and oviposition was observed in three of them, corresponding to queens from 38, 42, and 44 μl treatments. Age of workers in mating nuclei had no effect on queen acceptance. The presence of physogastric queens was observed in three of the nuclei. A higher queen emergence proportion was achieved in treatments with stricter sterility conditions. Our results demonstrate the possibility of colony formation through in vitro rearing of N. perilampoides queens with the protocol developed in this study.

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Published

19-09-2024

How to Cite

Rubio, A., Sánchez Guillén, D., Liedo Fernández, J. P., & Solórzano Gordillo , E. de J. (2024). In vitro breeding of queens of the bee Nannotrigona perilampoides (Cresson, 1878) (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Meliponinae): effect of food, age of workers and sterility. ACTA ZOOLÓGICA MEXICANA (N.S.), 40(1), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.21829/azm.2024.4012626
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