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bioRxiv · 10.1101/026740

Genetic structure of the stingless bee Tetragonisca angustula

Flavio O Francisco·Leandro R Santiago·Yuri M Mizusawa·Benjamin P Oldroyd·Maria C Arias
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Abstract

The stingless bee Tetragonisca angustula Latreille 1811 is distributed from Mexico to Argentina and is one of the most widespread bee species in the Neotropics. However, this wide distribution contrasts with the short distance traveled by females to build new nests. Here we evaluate the genetic structure of several populations of T. angustula using mitochondrial DNA and microsatellites. These markers can help us to detect differences in the migratory behavior of males and females. Our results show that the populations are highly differentiated suggesting that both females and males have low dispersal distance. Therefore, its continental distribution probably consists of several cryptic species.

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Flavio O Francisco, Leandro R Santiago, Yuri M Mizusawa, Benjamin P Oldroyd, Maria C Arias. 2015-09-14. Genetic structure of the stingless bee Tetragonisca angustula. https://doi.org/10.1101/026740

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