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• Autor(a) principal: Arruda, Valeska Marques
• Data de Publicação: 2005
• Outros Autores: Valter Vieira Alves Júnior, Valter Vieira Alves Júnior Valter Vieira Alves Júnior, Moraes, Mônica Maria Bueno de
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Biotemas (Online)
• Texto Completo: https://periodicos.ufsc.br/index.php/biotemas/article/view/21415

Morphologic analysis and phenotypic variations observed in the acid glands of Apis mellifera L. (1758) africanized worker bees (HYM.: Apidae) in the region of Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. In Apis mellifera, the acid gland can present atypical branching. It is composed of secretor cells that surround a canal leading into a non-muscular reservoir. We proposed to evaluate the morphology of the gland in worker bees of genetically distinct colonies, in terms of the presence and size of branching, the length of the main duct of the reservoir up to the branching point, and the total length of the gland. It was observed that the presence of branching varied from 30% to 76% with X = 59% ± 11.5%, and its length varied from 0.13mm ± 0.24mm to 1.03mm ± 1.54mm with X = 0.53mm ± 0.27mm; the variation in size of the main duct was from 5.97mm ± 1.61mm to 20.95mm ± 6.66mm with X = 12.3mm ± 5.7mm; the distance from the reservoir to the branching point was from 5.52mm ± 1.84mm to 19.53mm ± 6.42mm with X = 11.42mm ± 5.31mm, and the total length of the gland varied from 6.22mm ± 1.60mm and 21.98mm ± 7.40mm with X = 12.86mm ± 5.88mm. A large phenotypic variation was evident. The samples presented branching in at least 30% of the individuals, this characteristic being considered primitive. However, glands without branching suggest an evolution in that direction for this type of bee in the region. Concerning the genetic characteristics of the gland, in 31% of the colonies the workers presented small poison glands, genotype recessive homozygotes gm1gm1 and gm2gm2; in 69%, the workers presented large glands in heterozygote Gm2gm1 and dominant homozygotes Gm1Gm1 and Gm2Gm2. These results indicate a concentration of bees with large acid glands in the region, favoring a selection process for the production of poison.