Fig. 1
Brood provisioning, oviposition, and caste-specific development in Melipona beecheii. (a) The physogastric queen (lower left corner) has just laid an egg in a brood cell, which contains the full amount of larval food deposited by nurse bees, immediately before being closed by the surrounding workers. (b) Section of a brood comb that was experimentally opened to reveal the caste of developing bees. The arrow points to a queen (small head, small eyes) that developed in a brood cell of the same size as those of worker bees (all remaining individuals)