Stingless bees (Apidae, Meliponini), which are close relatives to honey bees (Apidae, Apini) and share with them a highly eusocial colonial organization (Michener, 2000), are remarkable for their habit of producing virgin queens throughout the year (Engels and Imperatriz-Fonseca, 1990). Most of these queens are not needed for a colony’s survival or division, however, and get executed some time after their emergence (Imperatriz-Fonseca and Zucchi, 1995).
