Apis nigrocincta

In queens, the ovariole count can range from 150 to 180 per ovary, and that number is much smaller in workers, although variable.[4] In males, the genitalia are greatly reduced compared to other Hymenoptera, but replaced by ornate endophalluses.[2] Within the species of Apis, there is very little differentiation in male genitalia of Apis. However, there is a striking variance in male endophalli for A. nigrocincta, and an explanation could be due to the female choice hypothesis, in that variability in male structure can be attributed to the fact that females choose their mates.[8]

A. nigrocincta is a medium-sized cavity-nesting species.[1] Colonies are “permanent” and new colonies are formed by fission.[2] Multiple combs are found in dark cavities such as hollows of trunks of live or dead trees, underneath roofs, water jars, and caves. Combs are also built with multiple attachment sites so that the contents of the nest are spread out over several points of contact. These nesting sites are close to the ground, usually 4–5 m in distance. Multiple combs are built in a pattern in which there is a uniform distance, known as the bee space, between each comb. There are two types of combs in a brood: smaller ones for workers and larger ones for drones, with worker cells averaging around 4.5 mm. Queen cells can be found on the lower edges of the combs, while honey is stored in the upper as well as the outer part of the combs.[5]

A colony will have anywhere from 7 to 15 queens per colony.[5] Virgin queens that emerge from the queen cells of A. nigrocincta will be accepted by other species, but A. nigrocincta will not accept alien queens when queens of the same species are present, although there is no evidence that alien queens mate with A. nigrocincta drones.[8] When a mother queen leaves the nest in a prime swarm, the first emerged queen will start “piping” by pressing her thorax on the surface of the comb and vibrating, causing a piping sound. Her fully developed sisters will also vibrate their thoraxes, creating a “tooting” sound. As long as these sounds continue, the younger queens will remain in their cells. Only after the next swarm will the next queen emerge and start the cycle of “piping” and “tooting.” If there are not enough workers to form a swarm, young queens will fight to the death until there is only one queen left.[5]

Similar to virtually all other Asian honeybee species, A. nigrocincta will abandon a nest to start a new one through migration and absconding. Due to the tropical climate of Southeast Asia, conditions for migration and absconding are possible year round, though predation pressure is severe in many areas. Colonies will leave due to disastrous events of nature or situations where abandonment is necessary, or due reduced resources. In addition, one can predict colony migrations due to seasonal declines in pollen or extreme temperature.[5]

The waggle dance of A. nigrocincta shares similarities with waggle dances of other cavity-nesting Asian honeybees. The dance will be performed on a vertical plane in an enclosed nest cavity near the entrance in the darkness of the cavity. During the straight portion of the dance, the location of a resource based on its position relative to the sun, while during the angle portion, the angle relative to the vertical represents the angle of the food source relative to the sun. The dance tempo is slower than that of A. cerana.[5]

Drones will congregate to specific sites known as drone congregation areas, and queens will mate at these sites when she is out on her mating flight. When a queen encounters a drone, she can choose to exercise choice of mates before mating, although there is currently no evidence of this preferential treatment. A drone will then hold on to a queen and turn his endophallus inside out into the opened sting chamber of the queen. This then will paralyze him, the distal part of his genitalia will break off, and the sting chamber will be filled with sperm.[8] The queen will then return from her mating flight with a mating sign that protrudes from the sting chamber [5]

A. nigrocincta queens mate with a relatively high number of males compared to queens of other bee species, with observed numbers of different matings ranging from 42 to 69 drones per queen. The mating frequency is the highest documented for honeybees, aside from Apis dorsata, Apis laboriosa, and Apis cerana nuluensis, the only Apis species that do not have documented paternity frequencies.[1] Similar to other Apis species, A. nigrocincta have monogynous colonies with queens mating with a large number of males.[8]

The primary measure of defense for A. nigrocincta is to live in cavities, as the cavities restrict accessibility of resources to a predator, but allow possession of valuable and limited resources to the bees themselves. Entrances to these cavities are guarded and check incoming traffic for any intruders. Another act of defense is “body shaking,” a violent and pendulum like swaying of the abdomen, performed by worker bees to discourage any insects, especially wasps, from invading the nest.[5]