Oviposition Behavior of the Stingless Bees : XV. Nannotrigona testaceicornis and its Strictly Integrated Oviposition Process (Apidae, Meliponinae)

The cell provisioning and oviposition process (POP) of a neotropical stingless bee Nannotrigona testaceicornis has the following ethological features : 1) The queen mainly staying on combs throughout her daily life. 2) Brood cells constructed synchronously. 3) Ovipositions obligatorily batched. 4) Queen-worker interactions remarkable by complicated and ritualized behaviors. 5) All cells constituting an oviposition batch provisioned synchronously. 6) Worker trophic eggs laid on the inner-upper rims of provisioned cells. The POP of Nannotrigona exhibits the highest degree of behavioral integration among the so far studied stingless bee taxa as indicated by conspicuous ritualization, acute synchronization of provisioning and exclusively batched cell construction. An ethological diagnosis is presented and, albeit provisionally, the main determinants of the integrated POP are suggested.