Morphometry of stingless bees (Hymenoptera:Apidae:Meliponini) of the genus Lisotrigona indicates presence of more than one species in India

Abstract

Morphometry of 53 stingless bees of the genus Lisotrigona collected from seven places in India by using 36 morphological parameters was studied. The data set also included  morphometry data of primary types of L. cacciae, L. chandrai and L. revanai for comparison and was subjected to Factor and Canonical Discriminant analysis. All the bees collected from five places formed two distinct clusters in the Factor analysis and five clusters in Canonical Discriminant analysis. In both the methods of analysis primary types of L. cacciae, L. chandrai and L. revanai were placed well separated from each other as well as from other bees. The bees from seven places also differed from the three known species in morphometry and ratios of length and width of parts of the body. Based on these results it is concluded that Indian stingless bees of the genus Lisotrigona consists of more than one species besides L. cacciae. The action of synonymizing L. mohandasi, L. chandrai and L. revanai with L. cacciae appears arbitrary; these three species should be considered valid until supported by male genital morphology or molecular characters.