Why do worker bees ( mainly Sterile ones ) do not reproduce ?
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Some worker bees 'reproduce for themselves'
Many worker bees are not descended from the Queen bee, a study has shown, with some 'cheating' on her and reproducing for themselves to prolong their own lives.
Bee: Some worker bees 'reproduce for themselves'
Worker bees are usually unable to mate, but are capable of laying unfertilised eggs which can develop into male offspring Photo: AP
7:00AM BST 10 Sep 2009
Bee colonies are renowned for their high levels of cooperation, but a study of a Brazilian species of highly social stingless bees, known as Melipona scutellaris, found some male bees are the sons of workers, rather than the Queen.
The bees are found throughout the Atlantic rainforest, colonies generally contain around 1,500 workers and are headed by one single-mated Queen.
The research, published in the Molecular Ecology journal, looked at nearly 600 males from 45 colonies to discover their parentage.
Results showed 22.89 per cent of the males were sons of the workers, rather than the Queen.
Co-author Denise Alves said that provided an ongoing conflict for reproduction.
She stated: "Surprisingly our results show that over 80 per cent of the workers' sons had genotypes that were incompatible with them being the sons of the present queen.
"This demonstrates, for the first time, how workers continue this conflict by reproductively parasitising the next generation of the workforce for their own selfish benefit."
Worker bees are usually unable to mate, but are capable of laying unfertilised eggs which can develop into male offspring.
To ensure dominance, the Queen usually eats any eggs laid by her workers.