Abstract
Many bee species are able to defend themselves against pollen or honey thievery. We herein report the functional role of small sticky particles deposited by Tetragonisca angustula Latreille in its nest entrance external side. This strategy was very effective to prevent ants from invading the bees’ nest. We reported many dead ants attached to the nest entrance and different ant species easily immobilized after being moved onto the entrance tube containing sticky particles. This is the first description of the functional role played by the nest entrance sticky particles under natural conditions..
Highlights
Species are usually defined by the physical attributes of their individuals, even though none of them is able to exist without the interactions they establish with other organisms and the environment they live in (Queiroz et al, 2007)
There are soldiers among T. angustula that protect the colonies either by flying in front of the nest entrance or by controlling the entrance standing inside tube (Kärcher & Ratnieks, 2009; Grüteret al., 2011)
The present study increases the set of nest defence strategies known in T. angustula by describing, under natural conditions, the functional role played by the small sticky particles deposited on the external side of the nest entrance
Summary
Species are usually defined by the physical attributes of their individuals, even though none of them is able to exist without the interactions they establish with other organisms and the environment they live in (Queiroz et al, 2007). Ants are considered the greatest predators in the tropics (Hölldobler & Wilson, 1990) and a threat to bee keeping in this region (Lehmberg et al, 2008; Rech et al, 2013). Some bee species are protected against ant predation by the chemical repellence on their bodies surface (Lehmberg et al, 2008).
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