Efficiency of trap nests in attracting stingless bees in the central Brazilian Amazon

Abstract

Obtaining colonies of stingless bees in the wild for the formation or expansion of meliponaries and other purposes is permitted by law in Brazil using bait containers or trap nests, and other non-destructive methods. We tested the efficiency of trap nests made from plastic bottles for attraction and nesting of stingless bees in the central Brazilian Amazon. We used 2-L and 5-L bottles and three types of attractants (cerumen and geopropolis from Melipona seminigra, M. interrupta and a mix of the two). We used 216 trap nests distributed in three experimental areas during 13 months. Visitation by six species of stingless bees in 58 (26.9%) trap nests, and nesting by three species in 12 (5.6%) trap nests in two areas near meliponaries was recorded. There was no significant difference between trap-nest size, nor among attractants for visitation or nesting, suggesting that the availability of cavities or hollows is more important than odor for nesting. Monthly pooled visitation and nesting events were not correlated with monthly rainfall. Based on our results, we can conclude that, despite the low capture rate, the acquisition of swarms through nest traps is a viable alternative to obtain new colonies of stingless bees for meliponaries.

Beekeeping with Hypotrigona spp. (Apidae, Meliponini): the first report of trap-nests for stingless bees in Tanzania

“…Historical records also depict humans taking honey from wild bee colonies throughout the geographical range of stingless bee habitats including in Africa, Asia, and Australia (Crane 1999, Jones et al 2013). Over the years, stingless bee utilization has evolved in the form of domestication (meliponiculture) which is widely practiced in the Neotropics with numerous stingless bee species (Oliveira et al 2013, de Carvalho et al 2014, Jaffe et al 2015, Cruz et al 2022. Recently, the practice has also been successfully adopted and advanced in some parts of Asia and Australia (Halcroft et In Africa, the adoption of meliponiculture is at its infant stage, practiced in limited areas, and few people have su cient knowledge to practice it in a sustainable and pro table manner (Njau et al 2010, Kidane et al 2021, Mduda et al 2023d).…”