Nestmate recognition cues in a stingless bee, Trigona fulviventris

Abstract

We investigated the use of nestmate recognition cues in a stingless bee, Trigona fulviventris. We first established that T. fulviventris can discriminate nestmates from non-nestmates, then bioassayed putative nestmate recognition cue compounds including fatty acids, alkanes, an alkene, wax esters and floral oils. At least one compound of every type affected nestmate recognition, but sham treatment of controls had no effect on nestmate recognition. Mean latency (time from first contact between bees to expression of aggression) was significantly negatively correlated with the probability that aggression would occur. These results suggest that T. fulviventris workers use a set of cues similar to that used by the honeybee, Apis mellifera; 16-C and 18-C fatty acids appear to be important in nestmate recognition in both A. mellifera and T. fulviventris. In contrast to A. mellifera, however, T. fulviventris workers also used other compound types, including alkanes and floral oils, for nestmate recognition. We discuss the implications of these findings for understanding the evolution of nestmate recognition in bees.