Introduction Stingless bees (Apidae: Meliponini) are highly social bees considered by several authors as generalists, both in relation to floral resources and in relation to their choice of nesting substrate. Their nests are found primarily in tree cavities, but, as Apis mellifera Linnaeus, they may also occupy different types of natural cavities (Roubik, 1989), and some species may also use artificial cavities (e.g. Zanette et al., 2005). Unlike A. mellifera, however, their physiogastric queens are unable to fly, which has two major implications: first, they are unable to move the colony to another cavity if the nest site suffers a disturbance; second, the reproduction of the colony is made after the workers from the mother nest find a new cavity and prepare it to receive the new queen. After the new queen is established in the new nest, workers from the mother nest look after it up to six months (Roubik, 2006).
ABSTRACT. Abundance, spatial distribution of Meliponina bees' nests (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Apini) and plant species used as nesting sites in savanna areas of Maranhão, Brazil. This study aimed at identifying the stingless bees species (Hymenoptera: Apidae, Apini, Meliponina) those were found in three study sites of cerrado, northeastern Brazil. The study also aimed identifying the plant species those were used as nesting sites by the stingless bees and verifying their characteristics. We intended to verify abundance and spatial distribution of the nests and patterns of the plants used as nesting sites. Seventy-three nests of 15 species were found. The most abundant species were Partamona chapadicola Pedro & Camargo, 2003 (34,25%) and Oxytrigona sp. 2 (20,55%). Eleven tree species were used as nesting sites. The most common host tree species was Qualea parviflora (Vochysiaceae) where 38,36% of the nests (n=28) nestled, followed by Salvertia convallariodora (Vochysiaceae) (n=17, 23,29%). The 95% confidence interval of DHB was between 36,21 cm and 41,68 cm. This interval is related with older trees that should have more hollows to be used as nesting sites. This process might be occurring with S. convallariodora and Q. parviflora. The patterns of spatial distribution for study sites 1 and 2 were random and the pattern for study site 3 was uniform. Random pattern would be a sign for absence of competition. On the other hand uniform pattern would indicate competition. KEYWORDS.Meliponina, fragmentation, Cerrado, nesting sites, spatial distribution. RESUMO.O trabalho objetivou identificar as espécies de abelhas sem ferrão (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Apini, Meliponina) presentes em três áreas de cerrado no Maranhão, nordeste do Brasil, por meio do levantamento de seus ninhos. Também foi objetivo do trabalho identificar e caracterizar os substratos vegetais utilizados como locais de nidificação. Pretendeu-se averiguar a abundância e a distribuição espacial de ninhos, bem como padrões de uso dos substratos para nidificação. Foram encontrados 73 ninhos pertencentes a 15 espécies. As espécies mais abundantes foram Partamona chapadicola Pedro & Camargo, 2003 (34,25%) e Oxytrigona sp. 2 (20,55%). Identificaramse 11 espécies vegetais utilizadas para construção dos ninhos. O substrato de nidificação mais freqüente foi Qualea parviflora (Vochysiaceae), na qual encontrou-se 38,36% do total de ninhos (n=28), seguido por Salvertia convallariodora (Vochysiaceae) (n=17; 23,29%). O intervalo de confiança de 95% para o DAP situou-se entre 36,21 cm a 41,68 cm. Este intervalo representaria árvores mais velhas que teriam mais cavidades disponíveis para nidificação, o que poderia ser o caso de S. convallariodora e Q. parviflora. O padrão de dispersão dos substratos com ninhos mostrou-se aleatório nas áreas 1 e 2 e uniforme na área 3. Padrões de distribuição aleatórios seriam um indício da ausência de competição e padrões uniformes indicariam competição. PALAVRAS-CHAVE.Meliponina, fragmentação, cerrado, substratos de nidificação, distribuição es...
Data on primitively social groups of Hymenoptera have been somewhat contradictory with respect to kin recognition, degree of relatedness and social evolution. This study presents a new concept of "relatedness coefficient". Called "aggregated relatedness", the hypothesis here introduced proposes that genes shared by any two individuals affect formation of family units to an extent dependent on their frequency and manner of dispersion in neighboring populations.
Dados de campo de espécies de Hymenoptera primitivamente sociais têm se mostrado contraditórios quanto ao papel do reconhecimento de parentes e do grau de parentesco na evolução social. Nesse trabalho um novo conceito de "coeficiente de parentesco" foi desenvolvido. Esta nova hipótese foi chamada de "parentesco agregado". Nesse conceito, genes compartilhados por dois indivíduos quaisquer têm importância significativa na formação das unidades familiares, dependendo de suas freqüências e da forma como estão distribuídos na população circunvizinha a esta unidade familiar
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
334 Leonard St
Brooklyn, NY 11211
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.