Biosystematic studies on stingless bees (apidae: meliponini ) of Kerala
| dc.contributor.advisor | Shanas, S | |
| dc.contributor.author | Faseeh, P | |
| dc.contributor.author | KAU | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2020-03-05T07:12:21Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2020-03-05T07:12:21Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2018 | |
| dc.description | PG | en_US |
| dc.description.abstract | The study entitled “Biosystematic studies on stingless bees (Apidae: Meliponini) of Kerala” was conducted during the year 2016-2018 at the Department of Agricultural Entomology, College of Agriculture, Vellayani with the objectives of studying the stingless bee diversity of Kerala and to document their nest entrance architecture. A total of 225 different colonies of stingless bees were sampled from all districts of the state. The sampling altitude ranged from 8 m (Kakkanad, Alappuzha district) to 1064 m (Pampadumpara, Idukki district) above mean sea level. Two new species (Tetragonula sp. nov. 1, and Tetragonula sp. nov. 2) of stingless bees based on adult worker specimens are described and illustrated with the help of photographs. They are compared morphologically and molecularly with closely related species. Differences in morphology based on principal component analysis and genetic analysis based on partial sequences of the mitochondrial COI gene barcode region support the recognition of the two new species. Along with the description, an analysis of their phylogenetic relatedness is provided. The genetic analysis reveals that, Tetragonula sp. nov. 1 is closely related to the common species T. iridipennis whereas Tetragonula sp. nov. 2 is distantly related. The inter-specific genetic variation observed between T. iridipennis was in a range 9.02-9.93% and 19.49-20.76% for Tetragonula sp. nov. 1 and Tetragonula sp. nov. 2 respectively. Out of various morphological characters observed, the number of hamuli was found varying within the T. iridipennis colonies. The current study revealed that, there is 10.54% variation in the number of hamuli among the 1651 number of individual bees studied. The normal number of hamuli recorded in this species is 5 on each wing but it varied from 4 to 6 on both wings and also exhibited asymmetry between the left and right wings. The nest entrances of stingless bees varied widely within the colonies of Tetragonula spp. The variation of nest entrance between the genera Tetragonula and Lisotrigona were more prominent. It was observed that, the nest entrance shape of Tetragonula sp. nov. 1 was square whereas it was round in Tetragonula sp. nov. 2. The most common form preferred by T. iridipennis was slit like entrance over oval, heart, round, and arch shaped ones. Length of the nest entrance mouth preferred by T. iridipennis was less than 2cm and the nest entrance width was recorded in a range of 1-2 cm. Out of 54 feral colonies of the T. iridipennis studied, 24 were located at a height less than 1m from the ground level, 25 were located at a height of 1-2 m and 5 colonies were located more than 2 m above the ground. Two stingless bee species. viz., T. iridipennis (Smith) and Lisotrigona cacciae (Nurse) were the only records from Kerala before this study. The discovery of two new species during the present study elevates the total stingless bee fauna of Kerala from 2 to 4 species. As the number of hamuli shows 10.54 % variation, this character should be relied upon with caution while distinguishing species. | en_US |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://krishikosh.egranth.ac.in/handle/1/5810144236 | |
| dc.keywords | Stingless bees, Lisotrigona cacciae, Tetragonula iridipennis, Lisotrigona cacciae, Pariotrigona klossi, Honey bee | en_US |
| dc.language.iso | en | en_US |
| dc.pages | 136 | en_US |
| dc.publisher | Department of Agricultural Entomology, College of Agriculture, Vellayani | en_US |
| dc.sub | Agricultural Entomology | en_US |
| dc.subject | null | en_US |
| dc.theme | Biosystematic studies on stingless bees | en_US |
| dc.these.type | M.Sc | en_US |
| dc.title | Biosystematic studies on stingless bees (apidae: meliponini ) of Kerala | en_US |
| dc.type | Thesis | en_US |