DISCRIMINATION OF CONSPECIFIC AND HETEROSPECIFIC BEES BY TRIGONA-(TETRAGONISCA)-ANGUSTULA GUARDS

Previous work has shown that guards of Trigona (Tetragonisca) angustul a colonies hover near the colony entrance and selectively respond to i nsects or models of insects presented near the colony entrance (Wittma n, 1985, 1990). We found that guards do not attack non-nestmate conspe cifics. We also tested the effect of a number of other meliponine spec ies on guard responses; guards attack workers of dark colored species but do not attack yellow or light brown species. We relate these findi ngs to previously published work, which emphasized the importance of c hemical cues.