Extinction ofMelipona beecheiiand traditional beekeeping in the Yucatán peninsula

Stingless bees: uses and management by meliponiculturist women in the Chaco region of Bolivia

BACKGROUND

Stingless bees have a great value as main pollinators of wild flowering and cultivated plants, thus playing a fundamental role in the maintenance of biodiversity and food security in Latin America. Despite their importance, stingless bees face numerous threats causing alarming population declines. Moreover, stingless bees have a great cultural and traditional value, since most products from the hive are used for a wide variety of purposes. A growing number of initiatives are encouraging the breeding of these bees, through training courses and modern management techniques. This study documents the knowledge on stingless bees and their products that meliponiculturists from the Chaco region of Bolivia have, as well as the influence that meliponiculture initiatives have on the management and general knowledge of the bees.

METHODS

Local richness and diversity of stingless bees was calculated using Hill numbers. Structured interviews were conducted with 59 meliponiculturists in order to characterize traditional and formal knowledge on stingless bees and meliponiculture. Generalized linear models were applied to assess the influence of training courses on the management of the bees. Also, a relative cultural importance index was calculated for each species.

RESULTS

Twelve Meliponini species were identified, and 15 local names were reported with morphological, defensiveness behavior, and nest description. There was no significant difference in the knowledge between different ethnical backgrounds or ages. A significant difference was observed in the use of supplementary feeding and assisted division, but none in the success in racking hives or in pest management, regarding the number or courses taken. The relative cultural importance index recorded 30 specific uses for bee products grouped in four categories, from which 29 were attributed (but not exclusively) to Tetragonisca angustula, making it the most versatile species.

CONCLUSIONS

The products of the hive, especially honey, are used for a wide variety of purposes, mostly in medicine. These uses are mostly attributed to just one species, T. angustula, in coincidence with what was taught in meliponiculture training courses by NGOs. The influence of formal knowledge is mostly positive, but it is recommended that other meliponini species are taken into account as well.

How ecovillages work: more-than-human understandings of rentabilidad in Mexican ecovillages

This article highlights the emergence of intentional communities known as ecovillages (ecoaldeas) in Mexico, exploring how humans seek to design sustainable futures in part by re-making rural livelihoods. Ecovillages are inherently speculative ventures, or as Burke and Arjona (2013) note, laboratories for alternative political ecologies, inviting-and indeed, necessitating-the reimagination of human lives with greater consideration for the natural world. In this sense, such communities might be understood as "exilic spaces" (O'Hearn and Grubačić 2016), in that they seek to build autonomous and self-sustaining agricultural, social, and economic systems while also reflecting a stance of resistance to neoliberal capitalist structures. At the same time, communities may also remain dependent on connections to broader regional or global markets in diverse and interconnected ways. Understanding ecovillages as diverse and emergent "worldings" (de la Cadena and Blaser 2018), I ask how these experimental social ventures reckon with their connections to the very systems they are positioned against. To trace out how communities negotiate this fragile space, this article is concerned with how ecovillagers spend their time at work-particularly when it comes to managing relationships with and between more-than-human beings. Drawing on participant observation with ecovillagers and more-than-human others they work with, I explore how the concept of "rentabilidad" (profitability) is differently constructed. To this end, I highlight ethnographic examples where rentabilidad is purposefully reconceptualized with more-than-human lives in mind; such a shift, I suggest, hinges on ecovillagers' individualized relations with the beings they (imagine themselves) to care for.

Community and Species-Level Changes of Insect Species Visiting Mangifera indica Flowers Following Hurricane María: “The Devil Is in the Details”

Mangifera indica is a widespread economically important tropical fruit. An ongoing study at the Juana Diaz Experimental Station in Puerto Rico aims to understand the factors that influence local pollination success and fruit yields in four fields each hosting a different mango cultivar (Keitt, Kent, Tommy Atkins, and Julie) at different temporal scales. Here we describe the results of insect collection campaigns that evaluated flower visitor communities of these fields (from January to April) in the seasons of 2017 (before Hurricane Maria), 2018 (after Hurricane Maria) and 2019 (2 years after Hurricane Maria). We expected a reduction in diversity, abundance and yields and even changes in composition following the hurricane events of 2017. Over the 3 years, plants were visited by a combined total of 50 insect species, mostly Diptera (also the most abundant), Hymenoptera, Coleoptera, and Lepidoptera. The relative abundances of insect communities changed but overall species richness of insect communities appeared to be recovering by 2019. A clear decline in overall crop yields for two of the four fields (hosting Kent and Tommy Atkins) was seen in 2018 but then recovered in one and surpassed pre-hurricane levels in another in 2019. Mango trees experienced an increase in the abundance for all insect groups in 2019 following the 2018 decline and only one field (hosting Kent) experienced significant species richness declines in 2018. Two of the most dominant insects, Palpada vinetorum (Diptera) and Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera), showed a “reduction-recovery” pattern for the period of 2018–2019 but not so for Cochliomyia minina which was very abundant in 2018 in three out of four cultivars but then returned to pre-hurricane levels in 2019. In 2017, the trees exposed to higher richness and abundance of species experienced higher yields regardless of cultivars but these relationships when present were often weaker in 2018 (post-hurricane) and 2019 and not all cultivars were equally successful at attracting the same levels of diversity and abundance of insects. Our results do support the importance of pollinator diversity and abundance to improve agricultural yields. They also emphasize that within the context of future extreme atmospheric events, that there needs to be an understanding of not only how these pollinator communities may recover from these events but also of how individual pollinators (vs. other factors) may influence plant yields to develop informed management strategies following such events.

Lethal and Sublethal Effects of Pyriproxyfen on Apis and Non-Apis Bees

Pyriproxyfen is a juvenile hormone mimic used extensively worldwide to fight pests in agriculture and horticulture. It also has numerous applications as larvicide in vector control. The molecule disrupts metamorphosis and adult emergence in the target insects. The same types of adverse effects are expected on non-target insects. In this context, the objective of this study was to evaluate the existing information on the toxicity of pyriproxyfen on the honey bee (Apis mellifera) and non-Apis bees (bumble bees, solitary bees, and stingless bees). The goal was also to identify the gaps necessary to fill. Thus, whereas the acute and sublethal toxicity of pyriproxyfen against A. mellifera is well-documented, the information is almost lacking for the non-Apis bees. The direct and indirect routes of exposure of the non-Apis bees to pyriproxyfen also need to be identified and quantified. More generally, the impacts of pyriproxyfen on the reproductive success of the different bee species have to be evaluated as well as the potential adverse effects of its metabolites.

Temporal Variation in Honey Production by the Stingless Bee Melipona subnitida (Hymenoptera: Apidae): Long-Term Management Reveals its Potential as a Commercial Species in Northeastern Brazil

Even though stingless beekeeping has a great potential as a sustainable development tool, the activity remains essentially informal, technical knowledge is scarce, and management practices lack the sophistication and standardization found in apiculture. Here, we contributed to the further development of stingless beekeeping by investigating the long-term impact of management and climate on honey production and colony survival in the stingless bee Melipona subnitida Ducke (1910). We analyzed a 10-yr record of 155 M. subnitida colonies kept by a commercial honey producer of northeastern Brazil. This constitutes the longest and most accurate record available for a stingless bee. We modeled honey production in relation to time (years), age, management practices (colony division and food supplementation), and climatic factors (temperature and precipitation), and used a model selection approach to identify which factors best explained honey production. We also modeled colony mortality in relation to climatic factors. Although the amount of honey produced by each colony decreased over time, we found that the probability of producing honey increased over the years. Colony divisions decreased honey production, but did not affect honey presence, while supplementary feeding positively affected honey production. In warmer years, the probability of producing honey decreased and the amount of honey produced was lower. In years with lower precipitation, fewer colonies produced honey. In contrast, colony mortality was not affected by climatic factors, and some colonies lived up to nine years, enduring extreme climatic conditions. Our findings provide useful guidelines to improve management and honey production in stingless bees.

Seasonal cycles, phylogenetic assembly, and functional diversity of orchid bee communities

Neotropical rainforests sustain some of the most diverse terrestrial communities on Earth. Euglossine (or orchid) bees are a diverse lineage of insect pollinators distributed throughout the American tropics, where they provide pollination services to a staggering diversity of flowering plant taxa. Elucidating the seasonal patterns of phylogenetic assembly and functional trait diversity of bee communities can shed new light into the mechanisms that govern the assembly of bee pollinator communities and the potential effects of declining bee populations. Male euglossine bees collect, store, and accumulate odoriferous compounds (perfumes) to subsequently use during courtship display. Thus, synthetic chemical baits can be used to attract and monitor euglossine bee populations. We conducted monthly censuses of orchid bees in three sites in the Magdalena valley of Colombia – a region where Central and South American biotas converge – to investigate the structure, diversity, and assembly of euglossine bee communities through time in relation to seasonal climatic cycles. In particular, we tested the hypothesis that phylogenetic community structure and functional trait diversity changed in response to seasonal rainfall fluctuations. All communities exhibited strong to moderate phylogenetic clustering throughout the year, with few pronounced bursts of phylogenetic overdispersion that coincided with the transition from wet-to-dry seasons. Despite the heterogeneous distribution of functional traits (e.g., body size, body mass, and proboscis length) and the observed seasonal fluctuations in phylogenetic diversity, we found that functional trait diversity, evenness, and divergence remained constant during all seasons in all communities. However, similar to the pattern observed with phylogenetic diversity, functional trait richness fluctuated markedly with rainfall in all sites. These results emphasize the importance of considering seasonal fluctuations in community assembly and provide a glimpse to the potential effects that climatic alterations may have on both pollinator communities and the ecosystem services they provide.

Effect of biotic factors on the spatial distribution of stingless bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae, Meliponini) in fragmented neotropical habitats

We recorded stingless bee colony abundance and nesting habits in three sites with different anthropogenic activities in the Soconusco region of Chiapas, Mexico: (1) agroforestry (7 hacacao crop), (2) grassland (12 ha), and (3) urban area (3 ha). A total of 67 nests were found, representing five stingless bee species, Tetragonisca angustula angustula (Lepeletier), Trigona fulviventris (Guérin), Scaptotrigona mexicana (Guérin), Scaptotrigona pectoralis (Dalla Torre), and Oxytrigona mediorufa (Cockerell). The most abundant stingless bee in each site was T. angustula angustula (>50%). The primary tree species used by the bees were Ficus spp. (Moraceae, 37.8%) and Cordia alliodora (Boraginaceae, 13.5%). The nest entrance height of T. angustula angustula (96 ± 19 cm) was different than the other species, and this bee was the only one that used all different nesting sites. Volatiles analyzed by gas chromatography from pollen collected by the stingless bees differed between bee species, but were highly similar in respect to the fragrances of the pollen collected by the same species at any site. Our data indicate that T. angustula angustula experienced low heterospecific and high intraspecific foraging overlap especially in the urban site. We observed cluster spatial distribution in grassland and in agroforestry sites. In the urban site, T. angustula angustula presented random distribution tended to disperse. Trigona fulviventris was the only overdispersed and solitary species.