Rd. Reginato et C. Cruz-landim, Differentiation of the worker's ovary in Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera, Apidae) during life of the larvae, INVERTEBR R, 39(2), 2001, pp. 127-134
The aim of the present study is to characterize the way worker and queen ov
aries differentiate in, Apis mellifera, a species with trophic determinatio
n of female castes. A morphological study carried out with light and transm
ission electron microscopy showed that the differences in ovary development
between the two castes begin as soon as the differential nursing of larvae
is initiated. The decrease in ovariole number in worker ovaries is due to
a process of cell death occurring in germinative cells and autophagic regre
ssion of somatic cells in the ovarioles that commence in the third instar l
arvae and proceed until the fifth instar where the process is more intense.
Germinative cell death leads to ovariole disintegration and incorporation
of the remaining somatic cells of the latter into the stromatic cells in su
ch a way that the total volume of the ovary is little affected during larva
l development, although the ovariole number decreases. By the end of the la
rval stage, loss of cells is observed among the stromatic cells of the ovar
y. As a result, the ovary starts to decrease in volume and takes on the adu
lt form.