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The Modified Pharaoh Approach: Stingless bees mummify beetle parasites alive

Mark K. Greco¹, Peter Neumann¹, Dorothee Hoffmann², Anne Dollin³, Michael Duncan⁴ & Robert Spooner-Hart⁴

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1. Swiss Bee Research Centre
2. Martin Luther Universitat
3. Australian Native Bee Research Centre
4. University of Western Sydney

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Document Type:

Manuscript

Date:

Received 02 December 2008 13:59 UTC; Posted 02 December 2008

Subjects:

Biotechnology, Ecology, Earth & Environment

Tags:

• stingless bees
• Diagnostic Radioentomology
• beetles
• insects

Abstract:

Social insect colonies usually live in nests, which are often invaded by parasitic species¹. Workers from these colonies use different defence strategies to combat invaders¹. Nevertheless, some parasitic species are able to bypass primary colony defences due to their morphology and behaviour^1-3. In particular, some beetle nest invaders cannot be killed or removed by workers of social bees^2-5, thus creating the need for alternative social defence strategies to ensure colony survival. Here we show, using Diagnostic Radioentomology⁶, that stingless bee workers Trigona carbonaria, immediately mummify invading destructive nest parasites Aethina tumida alive, with a mixture of resin, wax and mud, thereby preventing severe damage to the colony. In sharp contrast to the responses of honeybee⁷ and bumblebee colonies⁸, the rapid live mummification strategy of T. carbonaria effectively prevents beetle parasite advancements and removes their ability to reproduce. The convergent evolution of live mummification by stingless bees and social encapsulation by honeybees³ suggests that colonies of social bees generally rely on, secondary defence mechanisms when harmful nest intruders cannot be killed or ejected easily. This process is analogous to immune responses in animals.

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This document is licensed to the public under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License

How to cite this document:

Greco, Mark, Neumann, Peter, Hoffmann, Dorothee, Dollin, Anne, Duncan, Michael, and Spooner-Hart, Robert. The Modified Pharaoh Approach: Stingless bees mummify beetle parasites alive. Available from Nature Precedings <http://hdl.handle.net/10101/npre.2008.2591.1> (2008)

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Version number	Document title	Date
v2	Posted 06 April 2009

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