Stingless bees (Meliponini) are the largest and most diverse group of social bees, yet their
largely tropical distribution means that they are less studied than their relatives, the bumble …

Abstract Stingless bees (Hymenoptera, Apidae: Meliponini) represent a highly diverse group
of social bees confined to the world's tropics and subtropics. They show a striking diversity of …

Since the seminal work of Lindauer and Kerr (1958), many stingless bees have been known
to effectively recruit nestmates to food sources. Recent research clarified properties of …

Division of labor among workers is common in insect societies and is thought to be important
in their ecological success. In most species, division of labor is based on age (temporal …

Chemical compounds play a key role in the communication systems of many living
organisms. Information-carrying molecules, known as semiochemicals, have been classified …

Bees are well known for being industrious pollinators. Some species, however, have taken
to invading the nests of other colonies to steal food, nest material or the nest site itself …

Orchids employing sexual deceit attract males of their pollinator species through specific
volatile signals that mimic female-released sex pheromones. One of these signals proved to …

Stingless bees of the species Trigona spinipes (Fabricius 1793) use their saliva to lay scent
trails communicating the location of profitable food sources. Extracts of the cephalic labial …

Fatty acyl reductases (FARs) are involved in the biosynthesis of fatty alcohols that serve a
range of biological roles. Insects typically harbor numerous FAR gene family members …

Like ants and termites some species of stingless bees (Meliponini), which are very important
pollinators in the tropics, use pheromone trails to communicate the location of a food source …