02486naa a2200337 a 450000100080000000500110000800800410001902200140006002400550007410000230012924501990015226000090035152014420036065000090180265000130181165000220182465000170184665000140186365000250187765000190190265000220192165000100194365000090195365300230196265300250198570000160201070000160202670000150204270000230205777300680208021478282022-11-10 2022 bl uuuu u00u1 u #d a0021-88397 ahttps://doi.org/10.1080/00218839.2022.21147112DOI1 aSEGERS, F. H. I. D aCorrelated expression of phenotypic and extended phenotypic traits across stingless bee speciesbworker eye morphology, foraging behaviour, and nest entrance architecture.h[electronic resource] c2022 aAbstract: Stingless bees are the most species-rich group of eusocial bees and show great diversity in behaviour, ecology, nest architecture, colony size, and worker morphology. How this variation relates to varying selection pressures and constraints is not well understood. Variation can be caused by selection acting on behavioural or morphological traits, both alone and in correlation across traits. Here we tested whether behavioural and morphological traits important for foraging and defence are linked to nest-entrance architecture, an extended phenotype relevant to both foraging and nest defence. Using 23 species we investigated whether eye size, nest entrance size, landing behaviour and foraging method show cross-species correlations. A phylogenetically-controlled comparative analysis revealed that species with relatively smaller eyes build relatively larger entrances, which in turn are associated with faster landing approaches and fewer landing errors by foragers, both of which could reduce predation risk. Concerning foraging, mass-recruiting species have c. 10-times larger entrance holes than species with a solitary foraging strategy. Larger entrances could help species with mass recruitment to rapidly increase forager traffic or mount a strong defensive response when under attack. Our results show that studying correlations among different traits helps understand phenotypic diversity in species rich groups. aEyes aForaging aInsect morphology aInsect nests aPhenotype aPhenotypic variation aStingless bees aMorfologia Animal aNinho aOlho aAbelha sem ferrão aArquitetura do ninho1 aGRÜTER, C.1 aMENEZES, C.1 aMATEUS, S.1 aRATNIEKS, F. L. W. tJournal of Apicultural Researchgv. 61, n. 5, p. 598-608, 2022.