Morphological, Nest Architecture and Colony Characteristics of Stingless Bees (Hymenoptera; Apidae; Meliponini) from Tasik Kenyir, Terengganu. Morphological, Nest Architecture and Colony Characteristics of Stingless Bees (Hymenoptera; Apidae; Meliponini) from Tasik Kenyir, Terengganu.
Abstract
The objectives of this study were to investigate the morphological characteristics, nest architecture and colony characteristics of two common stingless
bees, Heterotrigona itama and Geniotrigona thoracica from Taman Tropika Kenyir,
Tasik Kenyir, Hulu Terengganu. Variations were found in terms of the colours,
length and width of the body parts. All the measurements of the morphological
characters in G. thoracica were significantly greater than H. itama (p < 0.05). The
average body size of H. itama was 4.7 ± 1.55 mm whilst G. thoracica was
7.44 ± 2.05 mm (N = 50). Heterotrigona itama are black in colour with grey wings
while on the contrary, G. thoracica are brown in colour with dark brown wings and
white tips at the apex of the wings. Both species have corbiculated hind legs fringed
with sensilla, ten flagellum antennae segments, six abdomen segments and three
ocelli. Three nest cavities of both species were also measured and observed to investigate the nest architecture between the two species. The nest measurements showed
that G. thoracica nest was significantly larger compared to H. itama (p < 0.05). Both
of the nests also have different unique characteristics from each other in terms of the
colour, shape and smell. Both of the colonies shared similar behaviours especially
on their foraging, dumping and nesting activities. Nevertheless, the defense mechanism between the two species was totally different from each other where H. itama
colonies were observed to be more aggressive compared to G. thoracica colonies
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Keywords: | Stingless bee, Colony behaviour, Morphological characteristics, Nest architecture, Tasik Kenyir |
| Taxonomy: | By Niche > Kelulut (Stingless Bee) > Research |
| Local Content Hub: | Niche > Kelulut (Stingless Bee) |
| Depositing User: | Nur Rohaya Razali |
| Date Deposited: | 13 Aug 2024 08:20 |
| Last Modified: | 13 Aug 2024 08:20 |
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