Abstract
Stingless bees from 14 hives of Plebeia droryana were analysed for the MDH isozymic polymorphic system, which is controlled by four alleles, MDH1-1, MDH1-2, MDH1-3 and MDH1-4. The hives came from four different localities in Brazil and at least 15 drones were tested from each one, to estimate the proportion of them that are sons of the queen or of workers; the obtained values were 83.8% (range 100% to 43%) and 16.2% (range 0% to 57%), respectively. It is suggested that male-producing workers evolved from the need to preserve xo-heteroalleles.
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Machado, M.F.P.S., Contel, E.P.B. & Kerr, W.E. Proportion of males sons-of-the-queen and sons-of-workers in Plebeia droryana (Hymenoptera, Apidae) estimated from data of an MDH isozymic polymorphic system. Genetica 65, 193–198 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00122905
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00122905