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The evolution of monandry and queen replacement in Melipona (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

Robert E. Page Jr.^I; Warwick E. Kerr^II

^IDepartment of Entomology, University of California, Davis, California, USA 95616 Send correspondence to R.E.P. Jr.
^IIDepartamento de Biociências, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Campus Umuarama, 38400 Uberlândia, MG, Brasil

ABSTRACT

Eight colonies of stingless bees (Melipona compressipes), were examined and the numbers of eggs, larvae, pupae, and adult workers were counted. A linear relationship was found between the number of workers present in the colony and the number of provisioned cells that contained eggs. All colonies were producing some reproductives suggesting that colonies of M. compressipes produce their reproductives during the rapid expansion phase of colony growth and, based on model 8 of Crozier and Page (Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 18: 105-115, 1985) should be monandrous. A model of the evolution of mating frequency and queen replacement is presented that predicts the co-occurrence of monandry and queen replacement that has been reported for Melipona ssp.

Keywords: Monandry; Queen replacement; Melipona; Apidae.

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