Predict mating systems are supplied in line with the cuatro tips suggested in our symptomatic approach (age.grams., mating facts, number of patches, spot pattern, and you may plug effort)

Predicted mating possibilities are provided according to research by the 4 actions proposed in our symptomatic method (age.grams., mating facts, level of spots, patch pattern, and plug persistence)

To help you estimate age tested queens, we categorized most of the anyone because of the collective side don ). Queens was grouped to your pursuing check tids the groups: (1) “newly mated,” unchanged wings (0–dos wear scratches); (2) “younger,” slightly worn wings (3–5 don marks); (3) “middle aged,” used wings (6–several don scratching); and you may (4) “dated,” extremely worn wings (?several don ples, study towards the wing wear just weren’t collected ergo becoming known as “no details.”

g., solitary couple or multiple pairs)-when the you will find one pair, the fresh new king try believed singly mated, in the event the there had been multiple sets, the brand new king was considered remated; (3) effort out-of mating connect connection according to research by the joint guidance off the current presence of melanized spots, the current presence of a plug during the queen, and you can inferred many years-when the melanized spots had been expose, however, connect was absent, regardless of king decades, the brand new connect was experienced short-term, but if the plug try introduce, despite queen decades, it is actually noticed an extended-title plug; (4) recently mated queens (i.e., recently mated queens going back out of an excellent nuptial journey; Kerr ainsi que al. 1962; Da Silva et al. 1972), was indeed people with an affixed mating connect, but not yet , physogastric. I failed to pick people physogastric queens that have melanized spots and attached mating plugs (understand the “Results” section).

I eliminated the final an element of the stomachs of 1 personal for every single intercourse per varieties (regarding tergum T-IV and you may sternum S-IV in females; and you will from tergum T-VI and sternum S-VI inside the males; Second Contour S1 )

We compared the male genital capsule away from M. fasciculata within the resting position (in the male’s muscles) plus in the triggered state given that a beneficial mating connect (for the female’s vaginal chamber) knowing the practical morphology. I revealed and you will illustrated the working morphology in line with the variations of initial and latest ranking of following the men genital formations: your penis valves, the fresh gonocoxites, and the gonobase. Immediately following to be able to define brand new sleeping condition and brought about county of one’s mating connect, we advised advanced claims on the structures of the genital tablet to represent its transform into the connect activation. Additionally, we changed this new books to get study for the men genital morphology away from almost every other genera and you will aesthetically compare analysis off prior degree so you can the sampled species. The get across-species assessment contained a categorized class of cock valves factor (powerful otherwise narrow), curvature (solid, intermediary, or poor), and you will spatha’s innovation (build, faster, or missing) ( Supplementary Dining table S2 ).

To choose mating standing out-of queens we believed cuatro facets: (1) the clear presence of melanized spots in the females genital chamber-in the event the introduce, king is actually believed mated, or even, try thought unmated; (2) level of paired melanized patches (elizabeth

We compared the new vaginal morphology between pre- and blog post-mating, off one another men and you may queens out of Meters. fasciculata, to learn the fresh new degree of your own plugging procedure. I find the variety M. fasciculata so you can rebuild the brand new procedure from mating connect since the every mated queens in this types employed mating plugs despite what their age is (comprehend the “Results” section). Therefore, we feel this species invited us to assess ladies to provide new mating connect during the the probably triggered updates. I compared a collection of step 3–5 specimens owned by more kinds-(1) newly emerged adult males away from brood combs; (2) sterile penisless guys; (3) physogastric queens having mating connect; and you may (4) virgin queens. I upcoming discussed and depicted the functional morphology between the very first and you can final level of mating. To take action, we accessed the new vaginal region of ladies and you will people and you may dissected for each and every specimens’ metasoma. After deleting they, we manually opened the fresh new scratching that with tweezers in order to carrying aside the fresh terminal sternum and you will tergum. For males, i opened the genital medicine of the completely removing it regarding the dissected region. After formations was in fact dissected and you may unwrapped, we depicted her or him from the pictures. According to research by the design of a complete selection of mating connect claims, i imagine throughout the female and male genital moves to spell it out the newest hypothetical means and action out of plugs when you look at the stingless bee mating.