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Journal of Heredity Advance Access published online on May 13, 2008
Journal of Heredity, doi:10.1093/jhered/esn023
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© The American Genetic Association. 2008. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org.

Inheritance of Traits Associated with Reproductive Potential in Apis mellifera capensis and Apis mellifera scutellata Workers

Lyndon A. Jordan, Michael H. Allsopp, Madeleine Beekman, Theresa C. Wossler, and Benjamin P. Oldroyd

From the Behaviour and Genetics of Social Insects Laboratory, School of Biological Sciences A12, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia (Jordan, Beekman, and Oldroyd); the Honeybee Research Section, Agricultural Research Council–Plant Protection Research Institute, Private Bag X5017, Stellenbosch 7599, South Africa (Allsopp); and Department of Botany and Zoology, Department of Science and Technology-National Research Fund Centre of Excellence for Invasion Biology, University of Stellenbosch, Private Bag X1, Matieland 7602, South Africa (Wossler)

Address correspondence to Benjamin P. Oldroyd at the address above, or e-mail: boldroyd{at}bio.usyd.edu.au.

When workers of the thelytokous Cape honeybee, Apis mellifera capensis, come into contact with colonies of the neighboring arrhenotokous subspecies Apis mellifera scutellata, they can become lethal social parasites. We examined the inheritance of 3 traits (number of ovarioles, number of basitarsal hairs, and size of spermatheca) that are thought to be associated with reproductive potential in A. m. capensis workers. To do so, we produced hybrid A. m. scutellata/A. m. capensis queens and backcrossed them to either A. m. capensis or A. m. scutellata drones. We then measured the 3 traits in parental, hybrid, and backcross offspring. We show that the 3 traits are phenotypically correlated. We also show that the expression of ovariole number, basitarsal hairs, and size of spermatheca is influenced by the genotype of the individual and the rearing environment but that the influence of the rearing environment is less important to the number of ovarioles. We hypothesize a single recessive allele (l), present at high frequency in natural A. m. capensis populations, which when homozygous causes larvae to elicit more food. This increased feeding as larvae causes resulting adult workers to develop more queen-like morphology and increased reproductive potential. The number of ovarioles, in contrast, appears to be under independent genetic control.

Corresponding Editor: Ross Maclntyre

Received May 25, 2007
Accepted March 10, 2008


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