Mechanisms and adaptations that shape division of labour in stingless bees

CHRISTOPH GRÜTER; MARIA SOL BALBUENA; LOHAN VALADARES

Current Opinion in Insect Science

Elsevier

Año: 2023

2214-5745

Stingless bees are a diverse and ecologically important group of pollinators in thetropics. Division of labour allows bee colonies to meet the various demands of theirsocial life, but has been studied in only ~3% of all described stingless bee species. Theavailable data suggest that division of labour shows both parallels and strikingdifferences compared to other social bees. Worker age is a reliable predictor of workerbehaviour in many species, while morphological variation in body size or differences inbrain structure are important for specific worker tasks in some species. Stingless beesprovide opportunities to confirm general patterns of division of labour and they offeropportunities to discover and study novel mechanisms underlying the differentlifestyles found in eusocial bees.