Oviposition behaviour of two Australian stingless bees,<i>Austroplebeia symei</i>Rayment and<i>Austroplebeia australis</i>Friese (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Meliponini)

Abstract

Abstract The maintenance of worker sterility in stingless bees may be associated with the ritualised queen/worker interactions that are observed during oviposition. The precise nature of these interactions is often species specific. Queen behaviour and the behaviour of workers towards the queen during oviposition are described for two Australian species, Austroplebeia symei and Austroplebeia australis. These behaviours appear identical in the two species. Worker oviposition is rare, and those eggs that are laid by workers appear to be trophic. We speculate that queen and worker behaviour during the oviposition process reflects queen/worker conflict over production of male eggs.