Schwarziana quadripunctata: Difference between revisions
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The closest relative of ''Schwarziana quadripunctata'' is the species ''S. mourei'', determined through morphological and genetic evidence collected in the early twenty-first century<ref name=melo15>{{cite journal|author=Melo, Gabriel A.R.| year=2015|title=New Species of the Stingless Bee Genus Schwarziana (Hymenoptera, Apidae) |journal=Revista Brasileira de Entomologia |url=http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0085562615001053}}</ref>. Until recently (2015) it was believed that these were the only two existing species under the genus ''Schwarziana'' in the world. However, two more species were discovered in the high altitude environment of South America – ''S. bocainensis'' in southeastern [[Brazil]] and ''S. chapadensis'' in central [[Brazil]]<ref name=melo15/>. |
The closest relative of ''Schwarziana quadripunctata'' is the species ''S. mourei'', determined through morphological and genetic evidence collected in the early twenty-first century<ref name=melo15>{{cite journal|author=Melo, Gabriel A.R.| year=2015|title=New Species of the Stingless Bee Genus Schwarziana (Hymenoptera, Apidae) |journal=Revista Brasileira de Entomologia |url=http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0085562615001053}}</ref>. Until recently (2015) it was believed that these were the only two existing species under the genus ''Schwarziana'' in the world. However, two more species were discovered in the high altitude environment of South America – ''S. bocainensis'' in southeastern [[Brazil]] and ''S. chapadensis'' in central [[Brazil]]<ref name=melo15/>. |
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== Description and Identification == |
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The [[stingless bee]] ''S. quadripunctata'' varies in size (from 6.0 to 7.5 millimeters) weight (from 90 to 150 milligrams)<ref name=wenseleers05>{{cite journal|last=Wenseleers|first=Tom|last2=Ratnieks|first2=Francis L.W.|last3=de F Robiero|first3=Marcia |last4=de A Alves |first4=Denise |last5=Imperatriz-Fonseca |first5=Vera-Lucia |year=2005|title=Working-Class Royalty: Bees Beat the Caste System |journal=Biology Letters |volume=1 |issue=2 |pages=125-128 |url=http://rsbl.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/1/2/125#F1}}</ref>. Worker bees and dwarf queens tend to be on the lower end of this spectrum while queens tend to lie on the higher end. Unusual for most other eusocial insects, worker bees and dwarf queen bees tend to be similar in weight and size<ref name=wenseleers05/>. The bees have a pale coloration of brown or reddish-brown with occasional yellow markings on the head<ref name=melo15/>. They maintain a [[punctate]] thorax and abdomen and a dorsal thoracic area sporting a few hairs<ref name=michener07/>. Glands, which secrete an oil-like substance, are present on the head and thorax. The glands are larger in the heads of general worker bees and larger in the thorax for nursing worker bees<ref name=cruz01>{{cite journal|last=Cruz-Landim|first=C.|last2=Reginato|first2=R.G.|year=2001|title=Exocrine Glands of Schwarziana quadripunctata (Hymenoptera, Apinae, Meliponini) |journal=Brazilian Journal of Biology |volume=61 |issue=3 |pages=497-505 |url=http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?pid=S1519-69842001000300020&script=sci_arttext}}</ref>. |
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Nests are entirely underground on the subtropical floor and consist of vast and expansive cavities. Each nest is occupied by a single colony comprised of an individual queen and several thousand workers<ref name=wenseleers05/>. Brood cells are arranged in spiral combs, each housing only one individual. Cells housing queens are typically much larger than the surrounding cells housing males and workers<ref name=wenseleers05/>. |
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== Behavior == |
== Behavior == |
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Revision as of 20:50, 24 September 2015
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| Schwarziana quadripunctata (Lepeletier, 1836)
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Schwarziana qruadripunctata is a small, stingless bee found in a stretch of the South American Amazon from Goiás, Brazil, through Paraguay, to Misiones, Argentina[1]. This highly eusocial insect constructs earthen nests in the subterranean level of the subtropical environment, an unusual feature among other stingless bees. The species ranges in sizes of 6.0 to 7.5 millimeters and feeds on a diverse diet of flowering plants found abundantly on the forest floor, including guacatonga (Casearia sylvestris) and the mistletoe species Struthanthus concinnus[2].
Taxonomy and Phylogeny
Schwarziana quadripunctata was first described by the French entomologist and former president of the French Entomologist Society Amédéé Louis Michel le Peletier in 1836. Although originally placed in the genus Trigona, more recent taxonomic evaluations have since placed it under its current genus, following the 1943 work of Padre J. S. Moure[1], occasionally referred to as “the Father of Brazilian Bee Taxonomy." However, some still consider the term Schwarziana as a subgenus rather than genus and instead incorrectly classify it under the closely-related genus Plebeia.
The closest relative of Schwarziana quadripunctata is the species S. mourei, determined through morphological and genetic evidence collected in the early twenty-first century[3]. Until recently (2015) it was believed that these were the only two existing species under the genus Schwarziana in the world. However, two more species were discovered in the high altitude environment of South America – S. bocainensis in southeastern Brazil and S. chapadensis in central Brazil[3].
Description and Identification
The stingless bee S. quadripunctata varies in size (from 6.0 to 7.5 millimeters) weight (from 90 to 150 milligrams)[4]. Worker bees and dwarf queens tend to be on the lower end of this spectrum while queens tend to lie on the higher end. Unusual for most other eusocial insects, worker bees and dwarf queen bees tend to be similar in weight and size[4]. The bees have a pale coloration of brown or reddish-brown with occasional yellow markings on the head[3]. They maintain a punctate thorax and abdomen and a dorsal thoracic area sporting a few hairs[1]. Glands, which secrete an oil-like substance, are present on the head and thorax. The glands are larger in the heads of general worker bees and larger in the thorax for nursing worker bees[5].
Nests are entirely underground on the subtropical floor and consist of vast and expansive cavities. Each nest is occupied by a single colony comprised of an individual queen and several thousand workers[4]. Brood cells are arranged in spiral combs, each housing only one individual. Cells housing queens are typically much larger than the surrounding cells housing males and workers[4].
Behavior
In this species, although less than 1% of female worker cells produce dwarf queens, they comprise six out of seven queen bees, and one out of five proceed to head colonies of their own. They are reproductively active but less fecund than large queens.[6] No other stingless bees are known to share this phenomenon of dwarf queen production.
References
- ^ a b c Michener, C.D. (2007). The Bees of the World. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
- ^ Wilms, Wolfgang; Imperatriz-Fonseca, Vera L.; Engels, Wolf (1996). "Resource Partitioning between Highly Eusocial Bees and Possible Impact of the Introduced Africanized Honey Bee on Native Stingless Bees in the Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest" (PDF). Studies on Neotropical Fauna and Environment. 31 (3–4): 137–151.
- ^ a b c Melo, Gabriel A.R. (2015). "New Species of the Stingless Bee Genus Schwarziana (Hymenoptera, Apidae)". Revista Brasileira de Entomologia.
- ^ a b c d Wenseleers, Tom; Ratnieks, Francis L.W.; de F Robiero, Marcia; de A Alves, Denise; Imperatriz-Fonseca, Vera-Lucia (2005). "Working-Class Royalty: Bees Beat the Caste System". Biology Letters. 1 (2): 125–128.
- ^ Cruz-Landim, C.; Reginato, R.G. (2001). "Exocrine Glands of Schwarziana quadripunctata (Hymenoptera, Apinae, Meliponini)". Brazilian Journal of Biology. 61 (3): 497–505.
- ^ Wenseleers, T.; Ratnieks, F.L.W.; Ribeiro, F.; Alves, A.; Imperatriz-Fonseca, V. (2005). "Working-class royalty: bees beat the caste system". Biol. Lett. 1 (2): 125–8. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2004.0281. PMC 1626201. PMID 17148145.
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