The diploid male has already been recorded for Melipona Illger, and herein, in Melipona seminigra merrillae Cockerell and Melipona interrupta manaosensis Schwarz. This paper was carried out at the Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA), Manaus, AM, Brazil. We produced and monitored 31 new colonies of M. s. merrillae and 32 new colonies of M. i. manaosensis. We sampled 2,995 pupae of M. s. merrillae and 2,020 of M. i. manaosensis. In colonies with a 1 : 1 sex ratio, male diploidy was confirmed by cytogenetic analysis and workers' behavior. We estimated 16 sex-determining alleles in M. s. merrillae and 22 in M. i. manaosensis. In colonies of M. i. manaosensis in a 1 : 1 sex ratio, workers killed the males and the queen that produced them soon after they emerged, as predicted. This behavior was not registered for M. s. merrillae, and sex ratios did not stay 1 : 1, indicating polyandry for this species.

Cytogenetic analysis of the Amazon stingless bee Melipona seminigra merrillae, by conventional Giemsa staining and C-banding, revealed a different chromosome number for Melipona: 2n = 22 for females and diploid drones while the haploid drones present n = 11. There is no evidence of B chromosomes. This result contrasts with previous studies, in which the chromosome number of 19 Melipona species was determined as 2n = 18 for females and n = 9 for haploid males. Based on cytogenetic information available for other Melipona species, we propose that M. s. merrillae has a more derived diploid number. This indicates that chromosome number is not a conservative characteristic within the genus as previously thought. Cytogenetic data for stingless bees are scarce, especially in Amazon region. Additional studies will be very important in order to promote Melipona karyoevolution discussion and consequently a taxonomy review.

Melipona seminigra merrillae is one of the main pollinators of Central Amazon native flora. These stingless bees are reared as economic alternative and for forest conservation purposes. Nine polymorphic microsatellite markers were characterized in 44 genotypes of M. seminigra merrillae from the Meliponary of the Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazonia, INPA (3°05.838 0 S 059°59.103 0 W), Manaus, Brazil. The number of alleles observed for each locus ranged from 3 to 8, with an average of 3.7 alleles per locus. The polymorphism information content (PIC) varied between 0.21 and 0.81 (average 0.50) and the discriminating power (D) ranged from 0.59 to 0.98 (average 0.77). The observed heterozygosity (H o ) and the expected heterozygosity (H e ) were 0.04-0.68 and 0.19-0.84, respectively. A cross-amplification test in three Melipona species suggested potential transferability of these microsatellites. These microsatellite markers should be useful for characterizing natural populations and specie conservation.

Melipona interrupta manaosensis is an important pollinator in the Neotropics. This stingless bee is reared by locals for honey production and also for conservation purposes. Eleven microsatellite markers were isolated from M. i. manaosensis and characterized in 32 individuals from the Meliponary of the Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Manaus, AM, Brazil. The number of alleles observed for each locus ranged from 2 to 5 (average 2.77). The polymorphism information content (PIC) varied between 0.08 to 0.62 (average 0.34) and the discriminating power (D) ranged from 0.61 to 0.99 (average 0.85). The observed heterozygosity (H O ) and the expected heterozygosity (H E ) ranged from 0.04 to 1.00 and 0.04 to 0.67, respectively. These microsatellites will be useful for future genetic studies of M. i. manaosensis populations and correlated species contributing with Amazon biodiversity preservation.

http://www.eje.cz Pedro, 2013) and are distributed from Mexico to Argentina (Michener, 2007) with the greatest diversifi cation and species richness in the Amazon Basin (Silveira et al., 2002;Camargo & Pedro, 2013).Melipona (Michmelia) seminigra Friese, 1903 is a polytypic species that occurs in Bolivia (El