A Test of the Mating Limitation Hypothesis for Caste Determination in Evylaeus albipes (Hymenoptera: Halictidae), a Primitively Eusocial Halictine Bee

Yanega's (1997) mating limitation hypothesis (MLH) states that if a female mates promptly after emerging, she then becomes a member of the maximally reproductive behavioral caste (i.e., in most cases an overwintering gyne). Females that do not mate early become workers. We tested the MLH in laboratory colonies of a eusocial population of Evylaeus albipes. Of 24 worker brood females (13 from queenright and 11 from orphaned nests), 13 mated on the first day of flight activity and all mated within the first 5 days; there were no significant differences between mating rates of females from the two colony types. All 24 commenced foraging as workers after an average of between 3 and 4 days postmating. We conclude that the MLH does not apply to this species despite the fact that the only known halictine for which this hypothesis has been experimentally tested is the fairly closely related E. marginatus.