In the eusocial worker bees, portions of the epithelium of the abdominal epidermis may become hypertrophied and glandular, and produce the wax used to build the brood alveoli. In meliponine bees, the presence of similar epithelium was already observed in the queens, but its function is still unknown. Would this epithelium have homologous function in the workers? May the queens display other functions, besides reproduction, related to those considered exclusive of workers? In order to contribute to solve these questions, a histological and ultrastructural study of the tegumentary epithelial glands of the third tergite was carried out in virgins and physogastric queens of Scaptotrigona postica Latreille. The glandular tegumentary epithelium was easily discernible in the third tergite of the queens, being much more developed in physogastric than in virgin queens. The ultrastructural differences in the smooth endoplasmic reticulum between the queens, additionally to the histological and morphometrical data, indicate that this epithelium may have functional differences between the queen types. As already known, the virgin queens may produce wax and build brood alveoli, but the role of this epithelium in physogastric queens is totally unknown. A hypothesis considered in the present study is that the epithelium may be involved in production of pheromones, which may play roles in the social interaction of the laying queen.
Wax; meliponine; histology; microscopy
