Frequency of social nesting in the sweat bee Megalopta genalis (Halictidae) does not vary across a rainfall gradient, despite disparity in brood production and body size

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dc.contributor.authorTierney, S.M.
dc.contributor.authorFischer, C.N.
dc.contributor.authorRehan, S.M.
dc.contributor.authorKapheim, K.M.
dc.contributor.authorWcislo, W.T.
dc.date.issued2013
dc.description.abstractLocal environmental conditions can facilitate or preclude the development of eusocial colonies in insects that facultatively express behavioural-caste polyphenism. To explore how environmental variability relates to the expression of social behaviour, we collected 120 nests of the facultatively social sweat bee, Megalopta genalis (Halictidae: Augochlorini), along a nearly twofold rainfall gradient in central Panama. Brood rearing activity of bees in seasonal neotropical forests should track flowering phenologies, which are typically set by rainfall and phylogenetic patterns. Nests were collected at roughly similar times of year from three sites comprising wet, moist and dry lowland tropical forests. There were significant differences in ovarian development, brood production and body size across sites for some comparisons, but no effect on the proportion of social colonies collected at each site. Results show that phenotypes of M. genalis relevant to social behaviour (ovarian development, brood production, body size) may be responsive to variation in local environment over distances of <20 km.
dc.description.statementofresponsibilityS. M. Tierney, C. N. Fischer, S. M. Rehan, K. M. Kapheim, W. T. Wcislo
dc.identifier.citationInsectes Sociaux, 2013; 60(2):163-172
dc.identifier.doi10.1007/s00040-012-0280-4
dc.identifier.issn0020-1812
dc.identifier.issn1420-9098
dc.identifier.orcidTierney, S.M. [0000-0002-8812-6753]
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2440/87039
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherSP Birkhäuser Verlag Basel
dc.rights© International Union for the Study of Social Insects (IUSSI) 2013
dc.source.urihttps://doi.org/10.1007/s00040-012-0280-4
dc.subjectSocial evolution; Seasonality; Rainfall gradient; Eusocial behaviour; Augochlorini
dc.titleFrequency of social nesting in the sweat bee Megalopta genalis (Halictidae) does not vary across a rainfall gradient, despite disparity in brood production and body size
dc.typeJournal article
pubs.publication-statusPublished

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