Notes on the biology of <i>Scaura</i> (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Meliponini)

Nogueira, David Silva; Rocha, Epifânia Emanuela de Macêdo; Felix, Jânio Angelo; Andrade, Marcos Aurélio Pereira de; Cortopassi-Laurino, Marilda; Alves, Rogério Marcos de Oliveira; Freitas, Breno Magalhães; Oliveira, Márcio Luiz de

doi:10.1080/00218839.2021.1940743

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 46 publications

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“…Stingless bees were identified based on their morphology according to dichotomous keys, when available, and/or by relying on diagnostic photographs [18,[46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58]. A Zeiss Axio Zoom V16 microscope was used for the observation of diagnostic morphological characters.…”

Section: Morphological and Dna Barcoding Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

DNA Barcoding of Stingless Bees (Hymenoptera: Meliponini) in Northern Peruvian Forests: A Plea for Integrative Taxonomy

et al. 2022

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Stingless bees (Hymenoptera: Meliponini) are among the most important pollinators of tropical forests. Peru is considered a hotspot of biodiversity of Meliponini, but many areas of this country (e.g., Peruvian Amazon) remain unexplored. We aimed to produce a first inventory of stingless bee species dwelling in humid and seasonally dry forests of northern Peru by combining traditional (morphologically-based) taxonomy and DNA barcoding. Specimens were collected in 2020 at five sites located in San Martin and Piura regions. We identified 12 genera of Meliponini. Among those, Trigona and Plebeia were the most abundant (45.9% and 12.8% respectively), whereas Nannotrigona and Scaura were the least represented ones (2.3%). We assigned a reliable species identification to about 30% of specimens (Trigona amazonensis, T. muzoensis, T. williana, Partamona testacea, Scaura tenuis, Tetragona goettei, and Tetragonisca angustula). Yet, more than a half of the specimens received a provisional identification (e.g., Geotrigona cf. fulvohirta, T. cf. amalthea, T. cf. fuscipennis, T. cf. hypogea, Melipona cf. cramptoni, Partamona cf. epiphytophila, Ptilotrigona cf. perenae, Scaura cf. latitarsis, Tetragona cf. clavipes, Trigonisca cf. atomaria). We also highlighted an extensive polyphyly that affected a number of currently recognized species (e.g., T. fulviventris, T. guianae, Plebeia franki, P. frontalis, M. eburnea, M. illota), whose members were split into various clades. Finally, 16% of individuals failed to be identified at the species level (Trigona sp. 1, T. sp. 2, Nannotrigona sp., Partamona sp., Scaptotrigona sp. 1, S. sp. 2, Trigonisca sp. 1, and Trigonisca sp. 2). We discuss our findings according to the current faunistic and biogeographic knowledge of Meliponini in Peru and the Neotropical region. We also remark on the importance of conducting a taxonomic revision of stingless bees and improving both their morphology-based identification keys and BOLD repository. Finally, we claim that integrative taxonomy shall be strongly implemented to truly assess the biodiversity of Neotropical stingless bees, allowing conserving these important pollinators and the associated traditional meliponiculture in an effective manner.

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Section: Morphological and Dna Barcoding Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

DNA Barcoding of Stingless Bees (Hymenoptera: Meliponini) in Northern Peruvian Forests: A Plea for Integrative Taxonomy

et al. 2022

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Small Amazonian stingless bees: an opportunity for targeted cocoa pollination

Maia-Silva,

Hrncir,

Giannini

et al. 2024

Front. Bee Sci.

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Cocoa (Theobroma cacao) is a multi-billion-dollar business. This tropical crop strongly depends on animal pollination for fruit development and seed production. The lack or inefficiency of natural pollinators in cocoa plantations has driven farmers to search for alternatives, such as laborious pollination by hand. A so far untested alternative, which has received increasing attention during the past couple of years, is targeted crop pollination through managed social bees. However, owing to the smallness of the flowers of T. cacao as well as structural barriers that impede large insects to access the stigma, only tiny bees may be a viable option for targeted cocoa pollination. In the present study, we asked whether small stingless bees (Apidae, Meliponini) could come into consideration as managed cocoa crop-pollinators, especially in shadowy agroforests. Among the 188 meliponine species native to the Brazilian Amazon region, which comprises an important portion of the center of origin of T. cacao, we selected 52 species based on morphological criteria (intertegular distance ≤ 1.4 mm; body length: 2.2–6.0 mm). Important for cocoa production, some of these Meliponini have an ample geographic distribution, occurring both in the center of origin of T. cacao and beyond (centers of cocoa production in Brazil: Pará: 35 spp., Bahia: 10 spp.). Presumably all species may be active at illuminance levels below those found in heavily shaded cocoa plantations, at least at times when anthers show full dehiscence and during maximum receptivity of the stigma. The bees’ potential to forage under reduced light regimes is corroborated by the finding that between 20 and 60% of the naturally exploited food sources are understory vegetation, including herbs, subshrubs, shrubs, and lianas. Many of the selected Meliponini build their nests, at least facultatively, in tree cavities, which facilitates their transfer to rational hives and, hence, the use of managed colonies in directed crop pollination. Important next steps for validating the potential of these small stingless bees in targeted cocoa pollination should comprise detailed studies on their foraging behavior and olfactory learning capacities.

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Stingless bee classification and biology (Hymenoptera, Apidae): a review, with an updated key to genera and subgenera

Engel¹,

Rasmussen²,

Ayala³

et al. 2023

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Stingless bees (Meliponini) are a ubiquitous and diverse element of the pantropical melittofauna, and have significant cultural and economic importance. This review outlines their diversity, and provides identification keys based on external morphology, brief accounts for each of the recognized genera, and an updated checklist of all living and fossil species. In total there are currently 605 described extant species in 45 extant genera, and a further 18 extinct species in nine genera, seven of which are extinct. A new fossil genus, Adactylurina Engel, gen. nov., is also described for a species in Miocene amber from Ethiopia. In addition to the systematic review, the biology of stingless bees is summarized with an emphasis on aspects related to their nesting biology and architecture.

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Notes on the biology of Scaura (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Meliponini)

Cited by 3 publications

References 46 publications

DNA Barcoding of Stingless Bees (Hymenoptera: Meliponini) in Northern Peruvian Forests: A Plea for Integrative Taxonomy

DNA Barcoding of Stingless Bees (Hymenoptera: Meliponini) in Northern Peruvian Forests: A Plea for Integrative Taxonomy

Small Amazonian stingless bees: an opportunity for targeted cocoa pollination

Stingless bee classification and biology (Hymenoptera, Apidae): a review, with an updated key to genera and subgenera

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Notes on the biology of Scaura (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Meliponini)

Cited by 3 publications

References 46 publications

DNA Barcoding of Stingless Bees (Hymenoptera: Meliponini) in Northern Peruvian Forests: A Plea for Integrative Taxonomy

DNA Barcoding of Stingless Bees (Hymenoptera: Meliponini) in Northern Peruvian Forests: A Plea for Integrative Taxonomy

Small Amazonian stingless bees: an opportunity for targeted cocoa pollination

﻿Stingless bee classification and biology (Hymenoptera, Apidae): a review, with an updated key to genera and subgenera

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Stingless bee classification and biology (Hymenoptera, Apidae): a review, with an updated key to genera and subgenera