Larval food provisions affect developmental time, body size and vitellogenin titers of Scaptotrigona pectoralis gynes (Hymenoptera: Meliponini)

Body size has frequently been discussed as related to reproductive success. Stingless bees show remarkable variation in body size among and within sexes and castes, but very little is known about the proximate causes and the consequences of such variation in these highly eusocial bees. In this study, we evaluated the effect of different amounts of food provided to the larvae on developmental time, body size, abdominal mass, and vitellogenin (Vg) hemolymph titers of gynes of the stingless bee Scaptotrigona pectoralis, a species with trophic caste determination. Our results provide empirical evidence of a significant effect of the quantity of larval food on the duration of development, body size, and traits of reproductive fitness. We discuss proximate causes that may explain gyne size variation in stingless bees. We see this as an initial step towards understanding the adaptive significance and ultimate causes of this phenomenon in highly eusocial bees.

Automated summary

This study provides empirical evidence that the amount of larval food significantly affects the development time, body size, and reproductive fitness traits of gynes in stingless bees. It is an initial step towards understanding the adaptive significance and ultimate causes of gyne size variation in highly eusocial bees.