Quantification of larval food and its pollen content in the diet of stingless bees – subsidies for toxicity bioassays studies

Rosa, A.; Fernandes, Mariana Zaniol; Ferreira, Débora Lisandra de Paiva; Blochtein, Betina; Pires, C. S. S.; Imperatriz-Fonseca, Vera Lúcia

doi:10.1590/1519-6984.22314

Cited by 11 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 6 publications

(8 reference statements)

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“…These concentrations were selected after we evaluated median values of CPY concentration in pollen grains according to the literature ( Supplementary Table S3 , mainly references 7 and 8 ). Then, we chose the concentrations that would be close to sub-lethal for P. droryana larvae in our experiments, by taking into account the amount of pollen consumed by a larva during its development 51 (ca. 91,000 μ g, i.e.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Queens become workers: pesticides alter caste differentiation in bees

Santos

Acosta

Dorneles

et al. 2016

Sci Rep

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Bees are important for the world biodiversity and economy because they provide key pollination services in forests and crops. However, pesticide use in crops has adversely affected (decreased) queen production because of increased mortality among larvae. Here, we demonstrated that in vitro-reared queens of a neotropical social bee species (Plebeia droryana) also showed high larval mortality after exposure to an organophosphate pesticide (chlorpyrifos) via larval food. Moreover, most of the surviving larvae that were destined to develop into queens became workers more likely because they ate less food than expected without pesticide skewing thus caste differentiation in this bee species. This adverse effect has not been previously reported for any other social insects, such as honeybees or bumblebees. Queens are essential for breeding and colony growth. Therefore, if our data are applicable to other pantropical social bee species across the globe, it is likely that these bees are at a serious risk of failure to form new colonies.

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“…The proteins produced will serve metabolic processes in the development of the postlarval stages 29 . Pollen, being the predominant resource in the larval food of stingless bees 30 , is a protein source for them 31 . Ingested mites during the larval stage, along with the protein contained in the larval food, provide additional protein to the bees, leading them to process this additional amount.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fungivorous mites enhance the survivorship and development of stingless bees even when exposed to pesticides

Rosa-Fontana

Dorigo

Malaquias

et al. 2022

Sci Rep

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Stingless bees are the largest group of eusocial bees in the world. They play an essential role as crop pollinators and have been considered for inclusion in pesticide risk assessments (RAs). Beyond the mutualism involving stingless bee larvae and fungi, the fungivorous mite Proctotydaeus (Neotydeolus) alvearii proved to be interesting for studies of associations with stingless bees. Their presence is related to colony strength and health, showing a permanent-host-association level. Here, we tested whether the coexistence with P. (N.) alvearii affects stingless bee larvae survivorship and development, including when fed pesticide-dosed food. We chose dimethoate, the reference standard for toxicity tests, and thiamethoxam, widely used in neotropical crops and listed to be reassessed in RAs. Bees associated with the mites showed higher larval survivorship rates, even in the dosed ones, and revealed changes in the developmental time and body size. Our study represents the first approach to stingless bee responses to the coexistence of fungivorous mites inside brood cells, leading us to believe that these mites play a beneficial role in stingless bees, including when they are exposed to pesticides.

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“…Similar to cell size, the volume of brood food varied among different species. For instance, according to Rosa et al (2015), the brood food volumes of M. obscurior and S. bipunctata were greater than that of T. collina, with values of 49.8L and 37.3L, respectively. In contrast, the amounts of larval food of P. droryana and T. fiebrigi were 9.4L and 10.1L, respectively, smaller than that of T. collina.…”

Section: Cell Volumementioning

confidence: 97%

The Studying the Biological Characteristics of the Stingless Bee Tetrigonilla Collina Smith 1857 (Apidae: Melipona) in Hanoi, Vietnam

Thái

Ngoc

Huong

2021

vjas

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Stingless bees are distributed in tropical and subtropical regions. There are over 16,000 species of stingless bees around the world, among which, 42 species are from Asia (Kerr & Maule, 1964). Sixteen species of stingless bees have been identified in Vietnam (Sakagami, 1975; Sakagami, 1978; Engel, 2000; Chinh et al., 2005; Rasmussen, 2008). In this study, the biological characteristics of Tetrigonilla collina, as a representative for Southeast Asian stingless bees, were observed and recorded. The worker cell dimensions were 5.30 ± 0.34mm in length by 4.28 ± 0.37mm in width with a volume of 45.02 ± 5.74mL (food volume: 19.05 ± 3.5mL; ratio: 42.27%). The new cells were mostly built in the morning (from 2:00 to 10:00 am) and the queen laid eggs (2.52 ± 0.81 sec per egg) and capped the cells in the afternoon (from 12:00 to 17:00 pm). The average worker-cell building period was 12.03 ± 3.78 hours. Mainly, six of first ten bees that inserted made food discharges in a cell. The food discharge occurred in a very short time, which was 1.58 ± 0.6 minutes. The new cell numbers of the colony were reduced at the end of the experimental period.

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“…in pollen grains (Bonmatin et al, 2005). By considering that the weight of pollen grains inside brood cells of P. droryana (Rosa et al, 2015a(Rosa et al, , 2015b reaches ca. 1.3 µg, we added 0.0065 µg/g of a.i.…”

Section: Queen Rearing and Toxicological Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Queen bee acceptance under threat: Neurotoxic insecticides provoke deep damage in queen-worker relationships

Otesbelgue

Santos

Blochtein

2018

Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety

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“…The brood food of stingless bees varies among species according to their diet, but is generally a blend of protein, free amino acids, lipids and carbohydrates in about 50% water [14,15]. Not surprisingly for bees, pollen makes up about 10% of the brood food of most species [14]. Stingless bees therefore differ from honey bees whose food for queen larvae (royal jelly) and young worker larvae (worker jelly) is mostly derived from mandibular gland secretions.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Entomology: A Bee Farming a Fungus

Oldroyd

Aanen

2015

Current Biology

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Quantification of larval food and its pollen content in the diet of stingless bees – subsidies for toxicity bioassays studies

Cited by 11 publications

References 6 publications

Queens become workers: pesticides alter caste differentiation in bees

Fungivorous mites enhance the survivorship and development of stingless bees even when exposed to pesticides

The Studying the Biological Characteristics of the Stingless Bee Tetrigonilla Collina Smith 1857 (Apidae: Melipona) in Hanoi, Vietnam

Queen bee acceptance under threat: Neurotoxic insecticides provoke deep damage in queen-worker relationships

Entomology: A Bee Farming a Fungus

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