Stingless bees (Apidae, Apinae, Meliponini) inhabit the tropical and southern subtropical areas throughout the world. Apart from the closely related honey bees (Apidae, Apinae, Apini) they are the only group of bees that has reached advanced eusociality. The social life in medium sized to large perennial colonies requires sophisticated mechanisms of colony organization and well developed communication systems to ensure the coordination of individual bees in the various tasks that have to be carried out. Furthermore, the great diversity of species (several hundreds) makes the stingless bees a promising object for the study of the evolution of communication systems and of the mechanisms underlying colony organization in social insect societies.
The research project is divided into two main topics:
(1) Chemical signals used during food exploitation, which investigates the communication mechanisms involved in the recruitment of nestmates to food sources. In particular, it examines the mechanisms of deposition, the glandular origins, and the chemical composition of both scent marks left by foragers at food sources to attract newly arriving bees and of the pheromones used by various species to lay scent trails from the food source towards the nest to guide recruits to the food over longer distances.
(2) Chemical signals used in social organization, which investigates the role of fertility signals or queen pheromones, respectively, in the social organization of stingless bee colonies. The chemical composition and the behaviourally and physiologically active compounds of queen scent are studied together with the glandular origin of the secretions and the way of transmission among the workers. The behavioural reactions released in worker bees by the queen bouquet or by single components are tested in bioassays.
Publications related to this project
(12) Jarau, S., Dambacher, J., Twele, R., Aguilar, I, Francke, W. and Ayasse, M. (2010) The trail pheromone of a stingless bee, Trigona corvina (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Meliponini), varies between populations. Chem. Senses: DOI:10.1093/chemse/bjq057. view pdf
(11) Jarau, S., van Veen, J. W., Twele, R., Reichle, C., Gonzales, E. H., Aguilar, I., Francke, W. and Ayasse, M. (2010) Workers make the queens in Melipona bees: identification of geraniol as a caste determining compound from labial glands of nurse bees. J. Chem. Ecol. 36, 565-569. view pdf
(10) Reichle, C., Jarau, S., Aguilar, I. and Ayasse, M. (2010) Recruits of the stingless bee Scaptotrigona pectoralis learn food odors from the nest atmosphere. Naturwissenschaften 97, 519-524. view pdf
(9) Jarau, S., van Veen, J. W., Aguilar, I. and Ayasse, M. (2010) A scientific note on virgin queen acceptance in stingless bees: evidence for the importance of queen aggression. Apidologie 41, 38-39. view pdf
(8) Jarau, S., van Veen, J. W., Aguilar, I. and Ayasse, M. (2009) Virgin queen execution in the stingless bee Melipona beecheii: The sign stimulus for worker attacks. Apidologie 40, 496–507. view pdf
(7) Jarau, S., Morawetz, L., Reichle, C., Gruber, M. H., Huber, W. and Weissenhofer, A. (eds.) (2009) Corbiculate Bees of the Golfo Dulce Region, Costa Rica. Vienna: Verein zur Förderung der Tropenstation La Gamba.
(6) Jarau, S. and Hrncir, M. (2009) Social insects and the exploitation of food sources - concluding thoughts. In: Food Exploitation by Social Insects: Ecological, Behavioral, and Theoretical Approaches (ed. Jarau, S. and Hrncir M.), pp. 323-330. Boca Raton, London, New York: CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group. view pdf
(5) Jarau, S. (2009) Chemical communication during food exploitation in stingless bees. In: Food Exploitation by Social Insects: Ecological, Behavioral, and Theoretical Approaches (ed. Jarau, S. and Hrncir M.), pp. 223-249. Boca Raton, London, New York: CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group. view pdf
(4) Hrncir, M. and Jarau, S. (2009) Introduction. In: Food Exploitation by Social Insects: Ecological, Behavioral, and Theoretical Approaches (ed. Jarau, S. and Hrncir M.), pp. 1-5. Boca Raton, London, New York: CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group. view pdf
(3) Jarau, S. and Hrncir, M. (eds.) (2009) Food Exploitation by Social Insects:Ecological, Behavioral, and Theoretical Approaches. Boca Raton, London, New York: CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group. CRC-Press
(2) Stangler, E. S., Jarau, S., Hrncir, M. , Zucchi, R. and Ayasse, M. (2009) Identification of trail pheromone compounds from the labial glands of the stingless bee Geotrigona mombuca. Chemoecology 19, 13-19. view pdf
(1) Barth, F. G., Hrncir, M. and Jarau, S. (2008) Signals and cues in the recruitment behavior of stingless bees (Meliponini). J. Comp. Physiol. A 194, 313-327. view pdf
