A comparative study of the proventricular structure in corbiculate apinae (Hymenoptera, Apidae)

• Autor(a) principal: Serrão, J.E.
• Data de Publicação: 2000
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: LOCUS Repositório Institucional da UFV
• Texto Completo: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0968-4328(00)00014-7; http://www.locus.ufv.br/handle/123456789/19691
• topic: Alimentary canal; Apini; Bees; Bombini; Euglossin; Meliponini; Phylogeny; Proventriculus; SEM

The present study compares the proventricular structure, analyzed under scanning electronic microscope (SEM), among tribes of corbiculate Apinae. Fifty-one species of stingless bees (Meliponini), one species of honeybee (Apini), three species of bumblebees (Bombini) and seven species of orchid bees (Euglossini), were analyzed as in-group, and one species of sphecid wasp (Sphecidae) and two species of Halictidae bees, as out-groups. The proventricular bulb presents a basic morphology pattern similar to that of other Hymenoptera such as ants and wasps, being a symplesiomorphy for bees. The shape of proventricular folds constitutes a synapomorphy for Meliponini and an autapomorphy for Apini. The shape of hair-like projections of the cuticle that lines the proventriculus is a synapomorphy for Meliponini and Apini. These proventricular data corroborate the monophyly of the tribe Meliponini and the hypothesis that recognizes only one tribe for stingless bees. In addition, Meliponini+Apini constitutes a monophyletic group and Bombini+Euglossini another monophyletic group. The results confirm that internal morphology is a character that can be used in studies of the phylogeny in insects and the use of SEM as a powerful tool in these analyses.