Shifting range in a stingless bee leads to pre-mating reproductive interference between species

Paul, G., et al.

Behaviour, Ecology and Evolution Laboratory, School of Life and Environmental Sciences F22, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia

Conserv Genet (2023).

Key research conclusions:

● Humans can cause species to move into new areas where they might meet and mate with other similar species, which can cause problems for their reproduction.

● Climate change and trade are causing two types of stingless bees (Tetragonula carbonaria and T. hockingsi) to live in the same areas in Australia.

● Scientists developed a test to tell the two types of bees apart.

● The scientists looked at the bees’ private parts and found no evidence that the two types were trying to change their genitalia to avoid mating with each other.

● The bees sometimes get together to mate, even if they are not the same type.

● When the scientists moved some T. hockingsi bees to a new area, the bees attracted the wrong type of male bees to mate with, but no hybrid babies were made.

● Male bees only tried to mate with females of their own type, not the other type.

● The bees have ways of knowing who to mate with when they are up close, but not when they are far away.

● Moving bee colonies around can make it more likely for different types of bees to meet and have problems with mating, even if they do not actually have babies together.