Oxytrigona tataira (Smith) (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Meliponini) as a collector of honeydew from Erechtia carinata (Funkhouser) (Hemiptera: Membracidae) on Caryocar brasiliense Cambessèdes (Malpighiales: Caryocaraceae) in the Brazilian Savanna

Abstract

Mutualisms are interspecific interactions where individuals of two species experience higher fitness when they occur together than when they occur alone (Bronstein, 1998). This interaction is an important process for the structure and composition of communities (

Looking beyond the flowers: associations of stingless bees with sap-sucking insects

“…On the other hand, fire bees (Oxytrigona spp.) may expel formic acid from their mandibular glands onto their natural enemies (Bian et al 1984;Roubik et al 1987), a strategy that potentially helps these bees to successfully defend aggregates of sap-sucking insects (Cortopassi-Laurino 1977;Oda et al 2014). The aggregates of sap-sucking insects releasing honeydew may occur randomly in nature, which in turn may hinder encounters with stingless bees for making their detection by these bees more challenging (Chamorro et al 2013;Wolff et al 2015).…”

“…Sap-sucking insects are usually sedentary and gregarious, which facilitates their predation (Way 1963;Delabie 2001). Therefore, the establishment of a partnership with organisms capable of providing protection against predators/parasitoids, or even providing sanitation services, may be a good survival strategy for such insects (Way 1963;Letouneau and Choe 1987;Figueiredo 1996;Delabie 2001;Barônio et al 2012;Oda et al 2014). Social insects, such as ants, bees and wasps, seem to be preferred protectors because these taxa may aggressively defend their resources in a collective way (Way 1963;Letouneau and Choe 1987;Buckley and Gullan 1991;Delabie 2001;Kondo 2010;Novgorodova 2015).…”

“…The interaction between sap-sucking insects and their attending ants and wasps is well documented (e.g. Way 1963;Barrows 1979;Letouneau and Choe 1987;Buckley and Gullan 1991;Delabie 2001;Novgorodova 2015); however, the interaction between stingless bees and sap-sucking insects has received little attention, and has only been anecdotally reported (Cortopassi-Laurino 1977;Almeida-Neto et al 2003;Vieira et al 2007;Oda et al 2009Oda et al , 2014Koch et al 2011;Barônio et al 2012). To date, there are no papers comparatively and systematically investigating the interactions between stingless bees and sap-sucking insects evaluating topics as interaction network and phylogenetic perspective.…”

Kick Out The Ants: A Novel and Striking Behavior in Ant-Wasp Interactions

“…Several insect species have been reported to collect honeydew from A. reticulatum, such as the stingless bees Trigona branneri (Barônio et al, 2012), T. spinipes (Vieira et al, 2007), T. hyalinata (Oda et al, 2009), Oxytrigona tataira (Hymenoptera: Apidae, Meliponini) (Oda et al, 2014), and Camponotus crassus ants (Brown, 1975). Here we show the case of P. vespiceps, which is a species considered an indicator of high conservation status of riparian forests (de Souza et al, 2010).…”

Eating with the enemy? Mimic complex between a stingless bee and assassin bugs

“…), behaviours, and foraging habits (Roubik, 1989;Michener, 2007;Biesmeijer & Slaa, 2004). During resource collection multiple antagonistic or mutualistic interactions between stingless bees and plants, and between stingless bees and other insects have been observed (Howard, 1985;Almeida-Neto et al, 2003;Leonhardt & Blüthgen, 2009;Oda et al, 2009Oda et al, , 2014Gastauer et al, 2011;Barônio et al, 2012;Alves et al, 2015).…”