Production of wax by virgin queens of the stingless bee Melipona bicolor (Apidae, Meliponinae)

Abstract

Young virgin queens of the stingless bee Melipona bicolor have been shown to produce wax like workers. The small, white to transparent flakes of wax of the queens protrude from the intersegmental space and cover the anterior part of the tergite cuticle, in a way similar to that in workers. This points to the presence of wax glands in the queens. However, workers produce wax from glands located at the fourth to seventh tergites whereas queens secrete wax from the epidermal gland at the third tergite only. Analysis of the queen-produced wax showed that it contains the same substances as the worker-produced wax with minor differences in composition. The wax consists chiefly of the long-chain esters triacontanyl acetate and octacosanyl acetate, smaller amounts of linear C21 to C31 alkanes and alkenes, and still smaller quantities of linear aldehydes and isobutyrate esters. Analysis of wax from wax deposits and wax constructs showed the same composition. Wax from M. bicolor is similar to that of other stingless bees in containing the range of linear long-chain alkenes and alkanes and different from that of Apis bees which contains a more complex mixture, less hydrocarbons and more long chain esters.