IX Congreso Mesoamericano sobre abejas Nativas- Abril 23-25 de 2015, San Cristobal de las Casas Chiapas, México.

De izq. a derecha: Javier Quezada-Euán, Victor González, Ismael Hinojosa-Díaz, Valeria Morales-García, Jorge Mérida, Ricardo Ayala y Carlos Vergara.

Quezada-Euán J.J.G.; Sheets H.D.; De Luna E.; Eltz T. (2015) Identification of cryptic species and morphotypes in male Euglossa: morphometric analysis of forewings (Hymenoptera: Euglossini). Apidologie 46: 787-795

  Abstract

 Males of sibling orchid bees Euglossa viridissima and E. dilemma are morphologically cryptic, except for the number and shape of mandibular teeth. An alternative morph of E. viridissima has a third tooth similar to males of E. dilemma. We used this model system to evaluate the potential of wing morphometrics for the resolution of these groups. We found differences in the size characters of forewings of E. viridissima and E. dilemma albeit with substantial overlapping amongst them. However, geometric morphometrics of forewing vein intersections separated both species and, to a lesser extent, morphotypes. A discriminant analysis of the shape of the radial cell showed separation between all three groups, too, albeit with higher misclassification between E. viridissima and E. dilemma. We show that sibling cryptic species and morphotypes can be identified by geometric morphometrics, supporting its application with other methods as powerful aids to infrageneric taxonomy in bees.

Macías-Macias J.O; Quezada-Euán J.J.G. (2015) Quantification of brood emergence and distribution of individuals in M. colimana (Hymenoptera-Meliponini) in temperate climate. Rev. Mex. Cienc. Pec. 6: 233-241

ABSTRACT

Melipona colimana is a stingless bee endemic of Mexico that inhabiting temperate regions of the Southern State of Jalisco. Observations were made during the fall to infer the possible participation of the workers in the production of males. The behavior of workers and queen in provisioning and oviposition process (POP) was analyzed, the proportion of individuals was obtained in the brood combs and their spatial distribution for detecting clusters of males. In the analysis of POPs no evidence of reproductive labor activity of workers were observed. In the brood combs, 65.9 % of individuals that emerged were workers, 22.4 % males (without registering agglomerations) and 11.5 % were gynes. It was observed that the production of sexed individuals (males and gynes) was higher than tropical species, which could be a strategy of this species to ensure their reproduction in temperate climates. Having no visual evidence of the activity of reproductive workers together with the fact that no clusters of males in the brood combs were found, suggests that in this species at this time of year, all the eggs that developed as males come from the queen. With the results of this study, knowledge of the particular biology of this mountain stingless bee species is extended and a comparison with tropical species is made

PDF Rev. Mex. Cienc. Pec.

Eva Yolotzin Gutiérrez Gamiño

 Tesis de Maestría: Efecto del alimento larval en el perfil de hidrocarburos cuticulares y reconocimiento de reinas vírgenes de abejas Scaptotrigona pectoralis (Hymenoptera:Meliponini)

Asesor: Dr J Javier Quezada Euán

Marzo 2015 

PDF Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 

Dr. Samuel Vieira Boff

Estancia Postdoctoral en conjunto con la Universidad de Halle, Alemania (Noviembre 2013- Marzo 2014) para estudiar comportamiento de guardia en nidos con hembras múltiples de Euglossa viridissima

• Boff S., Forfert N.,Paxton R. J., Montejo E., Quezada-Euan J. J. G. (2015) A behavioral guard caste in a primitively eusocial orchid bee, Euglossa viridissima, helps defend the nest against resin theft by conspecifics. Insectes Sociaux 62:247–249.

  DOI 10.1007/s00040-015-0397-3

 Abstract

Defense castes are known from highly eusocial insects yet have rarely been described in social species with a small colony size. In nests of Euglossa viridissima, an orchid bee exhibiting primitively eusocial behavior, we recorded one subordinate female per nest that specialized in guarding in the presence of a dominant and a second subordinate who specialized in foraging. Guarding may have arisen as a response to cleptobiosis by conspecifics, as nests with a guard more successfully avoided intrusion and resin theft.

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T. Eltz;  C. Bause;  K. Hund;  J. J. G. Quezada-Euan; T. Pokorny (2015) Correlates of perfume load in male orchid bees. Chemoecology 25: 193-199. DOI 10.1007/s00049-015-0190-9

Abstract 

Male neotropical orchid bees collect volatile substances from their environment and compose complex, species-specific odour blends in leg pouches. These perfumes are accumulated by the males over time and are exposed during pre-mating display. It has been hypothesized that perfumes are indicators of male genotypic quality and that females chose mates by the quality or intensity of their odour. Because direct experimental proof is lacking, we investigated whether the amount or complexity of male perfumes is related to male (1) size, (2) fluctuating (left–right) asymmetry, or (3) age, traits that are known to be sexually selected in other animals. We measured left and right forewings (cell node distances for 1 and 2, wing wear for 3) of Euglossa dilemma and Euglossa viridissima collected during dry and rainy seasons on the Yucatán peninsula, Mexico (total N = 768). Wing size was not related to the quantity or the complexity of perfume extracts in either species after excluding the effect of season, which positively affected both size and perfume load in E. dilemma. Wing asymmetry had also no effect, except in rainy season E. viridissima, where it was positively (not negatively) correlated with the quantity of perfume. Wing wear, an established age indicator of orchid bees, had the only consistent overall effect, being positively correlated with perfume amount and complexity in both species. This is in agreement with the idea that perfumes are an honest indicator of male survival capacity.

 

PDF Chemoecology