Eur. J. Entomol. 121: 37-39, 2024 | DOI: 10.14411/eje.2024.006

Estimating the body size of orchid bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Euglossini) using the distance between their tegulaeShort Communication

Yostin AÑINO ORCID...1, 2, 3, 4, 5, Julio TRUJILLO3, 6, Abraham DE SEDAS3, Alonso SANTOS2, 4, Anette GARRIDO2, 7, Dumas GÁLVEZ ORCID...4, 8, 9, 10, *
1 Programa de Doctorado en Ciencias Naturales para el Desarrollo (DOCINADE), UNED, Instituto Tecnológico y Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica, Costa Rica; e-mail: yostin0660@gmail.com
2 Museo de Invertebrados G.B. Fairchild, Universidad de Panamá, Ciudad de Panamá, Panamá; e-mails: santosmurgasa@gmail.com, anecgarrido@gmail.com
3 Programa de Maestría en Estadística Aplicada, Universidad de Panamá, Ciudad de Panamá, Panamá; e-mails: julio.trujillo@up.ac.pa, abraham.desedas@up.ac.pa
4 Coiba Scientific Station, City of Knowledge, Calle Gustavo Lara, Bld. 145B, Clayton, 0843-01853, Panamá; e-mail: dumas.galvezs@up.ac.pa
5 Departamento de Fisiología y Comportamiento Animal, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Exactas y Tecnologías, Universidad de Panamá, Cuidad de Panamá, Panamá
6 Departamento de Matematica, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Exactas y Tecnologías, Universidad de Panamá, Cuidad de Panamá, Panamá
7 Departamento de Genética y Biología Molecular, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Exactas y Tecnologías, Universidad de Panamá, Cuidad de Panamá, Panamá
8 Programa Centroamericano de Maestría en Entomología, Universidad de Panamá, Ciudad de Panamá, Panamá
9 Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Ciudad de Panamá, Panamá
10 Sistema Nacional de Investigación, Ciudad de Panamá, Panamá

Body mass is an important morphological trait, which is associated with the physiology and ecology of insects. In the past, estimates of body mass were often based on general mathematical equations in which body mass was related to linear measurements of anatomical structures. For example, in female bees, estimates of dry body mass are expected to follow a non-linear relationship (power function) with the distance between the tegulae on their thorax, also known as the intertegular distance (ITD). Nonetheless, a major group of bees not included in previous studies are the Neotropical orchid bees of which mostly males are collected. We investigated whether a similar non-linear relationship is also the case for male orchid bees and we found positive evidence as the relationship can be represented by a power function providing reliable estimate of dry body mass. This is particularly important for estimating dry body mass of individuals stored in collections.

Keywords: Apoidea, morphology, biometrics, dry body mass, museum collection, power function

Received: November 29, 2023; Revised: January 23, 2024; Accepted: January 23, 2024; Published online: February 7, 2024  Show citation

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AÑINO, Y., TRUJILLO, J., DE SEDAS, A., SANTOS, A., GARRIDO, A., & GÁLVEZ, D. (2024). Estimating the body size of orchid bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Euglossini) using the distance between their tegulae. EJE, 121, Article 37-39. https://doi.org/10.14411/eje.2024.006
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