Cuticular hydrocarbon profiles correlate with caste, sex, and polyethism in the stingless bee Melipona solani (Hymenoptera: Meliponini)

Abstract

Information exchange and nestmate recognition among workers of highly social insects are tasks that usually involve cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs). Many studies in stingless bees have shown that CHCs carry information about nest origin, age, caste, sex, reproductive status, and their function in the colony. Thus, in this work, we characterised the CHC composition of queens, gynes, drones, and workers of Melipona solani by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. Any possible age-related difference was investigated by analysing the CHC profile of workers of different ages. We found quantitative and qualitative differences in the CHC composition between castes (workers and queens), and among drones, gynes, and queens. Similarly, polyethism (age of workers) correlated with CHCs, which allowed the separation of three groups: (i) foragers/guards; (ii) nurses; and (iii) larvae, pupae, and recently emerged workers. We discuss the possible function of these compounds in the stingless bees’ recognition interactions.

Keywords:

• Social insects
• stingless bees
• recognition
• cuticular profile

Acknowledgements

We thank M. Sc. Miguel Guzmán for beekeeping and provide us the bees. We also thank Dr. Samuel Cruz-Esteban from INECOL for statistical analyses.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The National Council of Science and Technology CONACYT provided a scholarship to D. A. R. (CV/grant number: 387462/255265). This study was supported by CONACYT INFR-2014-01(224846).