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Maccaro JJ, Figueroa LL, McFrederick QS. From pollen to putrid: Comparative metagenomics reveals how microbiomes support dietary specialization in vulture bees. Mol Ecol 2024:e17421. [PMID: 38828760 DOI: 10.1111/mec.17421] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2024] [Revised: 05/12/2024] [Accepted: 05/20/2024] [Indexed: 06/05/2024]
Abstract
For most animals, the microbiome is key for nutrition and pathogen defence, and is often shaped by diet. Corbiculate bees, including honey bees, bumble bees, and stingless bees, share a core microbiome that has been shaped, at least in part, by the challenges associated with pollen digestion. However, three species of stingless bees deviate from the general rule of bees obtaining their protein exclusively from pollen (obligate pollinivores) and instead consume carrion as their sole protein source (obligate necrophages) or consume both pollen and carrion (facultative necrophages). These three life histories can provide missing insights into microbiome evolution associated with extreme dietary transitions. Here, we investigate, via shotgun metagenomics, the functionality of the microbiome across three bee diet types: obligate pollinivory, obligate necrophagy, and facultative necrophagy. We find distinct differences in microbiome composition and gene functional profiles between the diet types. Obligate necrophages and pollinivores have more specialized microbes, whereas facultative necrophages have a diversity of environmental microbes associated with several dietary niches. Our study suggests that necrophagous bee microbiomes may have evolved to overcome cellular stress and microbial competition associated with carrion. We hypothesize that the microbiome evolved social phenotypes, such as biofilms, that protect the bees from opportunistic pathogens present on carcasses, allowing them to overcome novel nutritional challenges. Whether specific microbes enabled diet shifts or diet shifts occurred first and microbial evolution followed requires further research to disentangle. Nonetheless, we find that necrophagous microbiomes, vertebrate and invertebrate alike, have functional commonalities regardless of their taxonomy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica J Maccaro
- Department of Entomology, University of California Riverside, Riverside, California, USA
| | - Laura L Figueroa
- Department of Environmental Conservation, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Quinn S McFrederick
- Department of Entomology, University of California Riverside, Riverside, California, USA
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2
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Filipiak ZM, Ollerton J, Filipiak M. Uncovering the significance of the ratio of food K:Na in bee ecology and evolution. Ecology 2023; 104:e4110. [PMID: 37232411 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.4110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2022] [Revised: 05/04/2023] [Accepted: 05/18/2023] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Bees provide important ecological services, and many species are threatened globally, yet our knowledge of wild bee ecology and evolution is limited. While evolving from carnivorous ancestors, bees had to develop strategies for coping with limitations imposed on them by a plant-based diet, with nectar providing energy and essential amino acids and pollen as an extraordinary, protein- and lipid-rich food nutritionally similar to animal tissues. Both nectar and pollen display one characteristic common to plants, a high ratio of potassium to sodium (K:Na), potentially leading to bee underdevelopment, health problems, and death. We discuss why and how the ratio of K:Na contributes to bee ecology and evolution and how considering this factor in future studies will provide new knowledge, more accurately depicting the relationship of bees with their environments. Such knowledge is essential for understanding how plants and bees function and interact and is needed to effectively protect wild bees.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zuzanna M Filipiak
- Institute of Nature Conservation, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kraków, Poland
- Institute of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland
| | - Jeff Ollerton
- Faculty or Arts, Science and Technology, University of Northampton, Northampton, UK
- Kunming Institute of Botany, Kunming, China
| | - Michał Filipiak
- Institute of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland
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Engel MS, Rasmussen C, Ayala R, de Oliveira FF. Stingless bee classification and biology (Hymenoptera, Apidae): a review, with an updated key to genera and subgenera. Zookeys 2023; 1172:239-312. [PMID: 37547181 PMCID: PMC10401200 DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1172.104944] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2023] [Accepted: 06/29/2023] [Indexed: 08/08/2023] Open
Abstract
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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Affiliation(s)
- Michael S. Engel
- Division of Invertebrate Zoology, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79
| | | | | | - Favízia F. de Oliveira
- Department of Agroecology, Section for Entomology and Plant Pathology, Forsøgsvej 1, 4200 Slagelse, Denmark
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Suenami S, Koto A, Miyazaki R. Basic Structures of Gut Bacterial Communities in Eusocial Insects. INSECTS 2023; 14:insects14050444. [PMID: 37233072 DOI: 10.3390/insects14050444] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2023] [Revised: 04/28/2023] [Accepted: 05/04/2023] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Gut bacterial communities assist host animals with numerous functions such as food digestion, nutritional provision, or immunity. Some social mammals and insects are unique in that their gut microbial communities are stable among individuals. In this review, we focus on the gut bacterial communities of eusocial insects, including bees, ants, and termites, to provide an overview of their community structures and to gain insights into any general aspects of their structural basis. Pseudomonadota and Bacillota are prevalent bacterial phyla commonly detected in those three insect groups, but their compositions are distinct at lower taxonomic levels. Eusocial insects harbor unique gut bacterial communities that are shared within host species, while their stability varies depending on host physiology and ecology. Species with narrow dietary habits, such as eusocial bees, harbor highly stable and intraspecific microbial communities, while generalists, such as most ant species, exhibit relatively diverse community structures. Caste differences could influence the relative abundance of community members without significantly altering the taxonomic composition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shota Suenami
- Bioproduction Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba 305-8566, Japan
| | - Akiko Koto
- Bioproduction Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba 305-8566, Japan
- Computational Bio Big Data Open Innovation Laboratory (CBBD-OIL), AIST, Tokyo 169-8555, Japan
| | - Ryo Miyazaki
- Bioproduction Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba 305-8566, Japan
- Computational Bio Big Data Open Innovation Laboratory (CBBD-OIL), AIST, Tokyo 169-8555, Japan
- Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba 305-8572, Japan
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5
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Abstract
Stingless bees form perennial colonies of honey-making insects. The >600 species of stingless bees, mainly Neotropical, live throughout tropical latitudes. Foragers influence floral biology, plant reproduction, microbe dispersal, and diverse ecosystem functions. As tropical forest residents since the upper Cretaceous, they have had a long evolutionary history without competition from honey bees. Most stingless bees are smaller than any Apis species and recruit nest mates to resources, while their defense strategies exclude stinging behavior but incorporate biting. Stingless bees have diversified ecologically; excel in nesting site selection and mutualisms with plants, arthropods, and microbes; and display opportunism, including co-opting plant defenses. As their biology becomes better known, applications to human endeavors are imposing selective pressures from exploitation and approaches to conservation that entail colony extraction from wildlands. Although some meliponines can adjust to new conditions, their populations shall require tropical diversity for survival and reproduction.
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Affiliation(s)
- David W Roubik
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Republic of Panamá;
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Abstract
Diet and gut microbiomes are intricately linked on both short and long timescales. Changes in diet can alter the microbiome, while microbes in turn allow hosts to access novel diets. Bees are wasps that switched to a vegetarian lifestyle, and the vast majority of bees feed on pollen and nectar. Some stingless bee species, however, also collect carrion, and a few have fully reverted to a necrophagous lifestyle, relying on carrion for protein and forgoing flower visitation altogether. These “vulture” bees belong to the corbiculate apid clade, which is known for its ancient association with a small group of core microbiome phylotypes. Here, we investigate the vulture bee microbiome, along with closely related facultatively necrophagous and obligately pollinivorous species, to understand how these diets interact with microbiome structure. Via deep sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene and subsequent community analyses, we find that vulture bees have lost some core microbes, retained others, and entered into novel associations with acidophilic microbes found in the environment and on carrion. The abundance of acidophilic bacteria suggests that an acidic gut is important for vulture bee nutrition and health, as has been found in other carrion-feeding animals. Facultatively necrophagous bees have more variable microbiomes than strictly pollinivorous bees, suggesting that bee diet may interact with microbiomes on both short and long timescales. Further study of vulture bees promises to provide rich insights into the role of the microbiome in extreme diet switches.
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McAulay MK, Killingsworth SZ, Forrest JRK. Understanding pollen specialization in mason bees: a case study of six species. Oecologia 2020; 195:559-574. [PMID: 33106935 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-020-04786-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2020] [Accepted: 10/10/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Many bee species are dietary specialists and restrict their pollen foraging to a subset of the available flowers. However, the reasons for specialization-and the reasons certain plant taxa support numerous specialists-are often unclear. Many bees specialize on the plant family Asteraceae, despite evidence its pollen is a poor food for non-specialists. Here, we studied six mason bee (Osmia) species, including three Asteraceae specialists, to test whether observed pollen-usage patterns reflect larval nutritional requirements, to investigate what aspects of Asteraceae pollen make it unsuitable for non-specialists, and to understand how Asteraceae specialists tolerate their seemingly low-quality diet. We reared larval bees on host and nonhost pollen and found that Asteraceae specialists could develop on nonhost provisions, but that other bees could not survive on Asteraceae provisions. These effects did not seem related to nutritional deficiencies, since Asteraceae provisions were not amino acid deficient, and we found no consistent differences in digestive efficiency among pollen types. However, Asteraceae specialists completed more foraging flights per larva, generally collected relatively larger provisions, and produced more frass (waste) than the other species, suggesting quantitative compensation for low food quality. Toxins, deficiencies in unmeasured nutrients, or aspects of pollen grain structure might explain poor survival of non-specialists on Asteraceae provisions. Our results suggest that floral host selection by specialist bees is not related to optimizing larval nutrition. We recommend further investigation of host-selection behaviour in adult bees and of pollen digestion in larvae to better understand the evolution of bee-flower associations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Megan K McAulay
- Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, 30 Marie Curie, Ottawa, ON, K1N 6N5, Canada. .,Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, Crested Butte, CO, 81224, USA.
| | | | - Jessica R K Forrest
- Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, 30 Marie Curie, Ottawa, ON, K1N 6N5, Canada.,Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, Crested Butte, CO, 81224, USA
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A primer of host-plant specialization in bees. Emerg Top Life Sci 2020; 4:7-17. [PMID: 32558903 DOI: 10.1042/etls20190118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2019] [Revised: 02/17/2020] [Accepted: 02/21/2020] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
The bee-flower biological association is one of the most famous examples of insect-plant interactions, and it is axiomatic that these are of critical importance for sustaining thriving terrestrial ecosystems. Yet, the most familiar associations are often artificially managed agricultural ecosystems, reflecting an exceptionally narrow range of bee species (often only one) and a concomitantly restricted range of associated behaviors, morphologies, and mechanisms tied to pollination. Here we provide a brief account of the range of bee-floral associations encompassing floral specialization in terms of diet, behavior, and morphology. These natural associations not only promote healthy ecosystems, but also can be integrated in sustainable ways for more efficient pollination of crops by targeting bee species whose diets, behaviors, and pollen-gathering structures evolved precisely to visit such floral species rather than less efficient, and often non-native, generalists that are otherwise exploited for such purposes.
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Wood TJ, Roberts SPM. Constrained patterns of pollen use in Nearctic Andrena (Hymenoptera: Andrenidae) compared with their Palaearctic counterparts. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2018. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/bly080] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Thomas James Wood
- Department of Entomology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
| | - Stuart P M Roberts
- Centre for Agri-Environmental Research, School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, University of Reading, Reading, UK
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10
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Conservation genetics of bees: advances in the application of molecular tools to guide bee pollinator conservation. CONSERV GENET 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/s10592-017-0975-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
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Abstract
Farming is done not only by humans, but also by some ant, beetle and termite species. With the discovery of a stingless bee farming a fungus that provides benefits to its larvae, bees can be added to this list.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin P Oldroyd
- Behaviour and Genetics of Social Insects Lab, School of Biological Sciences A12, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
| | - Duur K Aanen
- Laboratory of Genetics, Wageningen University, PO Boz 309, 6700 AH Wageningen, The Netherlands
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12
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Shackleton K, Al Toufailia H, Balfour NJ, Nascimento FS, Alves DA, Ratnieks FLW. Appetite for self-destruction: suicidal biting as a nest defense strategy in Trigona stingless bees. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2014; 69:273-281. [PMID: 25620834 PMCID: PMC4293493 DOI: 10.1007/s00265-014-1840-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2014] [Revised: 10/21/2014] [Accepted: 10/25/2014] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Self-sacrificial behavior represents an extreme and relatively uncommon form of altruism in worker insects. It can occur, however, when inclusive fitness benefits are high, such as when defending the nest. We studied nest defense behaviors in stingless bees, which live in eusocial colonies subject to predation. We introduced a target flag to nest entrances to elicit defensive responses and quantified four measures of defensivity in 12 stingless bee species in São Paulo State, Brazil. These included three Trigona species, which are locally known for their aggression. Species varied significantly in their attack probability (cross species range = 0-1, P < 0.001), attack latency (7.0-23.5 s, P = 0.002), biting duration of individual bees (3.5-508.7 s, P < 0.001), and number of attackers (1.0-10.8, P < 0.001). A "suicide" bioassay on the six most aggressive species determined the proportion of workers willing to suffer fatal damage rather than disengage from an intruder. All six species had at least some suicidal individuals (7-83 %, P < 0.001), reaching 83 % in Trigona hyalinata. Biting pain was positively correlated with an index of overall aggression (P = 0.002). Microscopic examination revealed that all three Trigona species had five sharp teeth per mandible, a possible defensive adaptation and cause of increased pain. Suicidal defense via biting is a new example of self-sacrificial altruism and has both parallels and differences with other self-sacrificial worker insects, such as the honey bee. Our results indicate that suicidal biting may be a widespread defense strategy in stingless bees, but it is not universal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyle Shackleton
- Laboratory of Apiculture and Social Insects, Department of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, BN1 9QG UK
| | - Hasan Al Toufailia
- Laboratory of Apiculture and Social Insects, Department of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, BN1 9QG UK
| | - Nicholas J. Balfour
- Laboratory of Apiculture and Social Insects, Department of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, BN1 9QG UK
| | - Fabio S. Nascimento
- Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Filosofia Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Av. Bandeirantes, Ribeirão Preto, 14040-901 Brazil
| | - Denise A. Alves
- Departamento de Entomologia e Acarologia, Escola Superior de Agricultura “Luiz de Queiroz”, Universidade de São Paulo, Av. Pádua Dias 11, Piracicaba, São Paulo 13418-900 Brazil
| | - Francis L. W. Ratnieks
- Laboratory of Apiculture and Social Insects, Department of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, BN1 9QG UK
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Dötterl S, Vereecken NJ. The chemical ecology and evolution of bee–flower interactions: a review and perspectivesThe present review is one in the special series of reviews on animal–plant interactions. CAN J ZOOL 2010. [DOI: 10.1139/z10-031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 170] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Bees and angiosperms have shared a long and intertwined evolutionary history and their interactions have resulted in remarkable adaptations. Yet, at a time when the “pollination crisis” is of major concern as natural populations of both wild and honey bees ( Apis mellifera L., 1758) face alarming decline rates at a worldwide scale, there are important gaps in our understanding of the ecology and evolution of bee–flower interactions. In this review, we summarize and discuss the current knowledge about the role of floral chemistry versus other communication channels in bee-pollinated flowering plants, both at the macro- and micro-evolutionary levels, and across the specialization–generalization gradient. The available data illustrate that floral scents and floral chemistry have been largely overlooked in bee–flower interactions, and that pollination studies integrating these components along with pollinator behaviour in a phylogenetic context will help gain considerable insights into the sensory ecology and the evolution of bees and their associated flowering plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- S. Dötterl
- Department of Plant Systematics, University of Bayreuth, D-95440 Bayreuth, Germany
- Evolutionary Biology and Ecology, Free University of Brussels/Université Libre de Bruxelles, avenue FD Roosevelt 50 CP 160/12, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium
- Institute of Systematic Botany, University of Zürich, Zollikerstrasse 107, CH-8008 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - N. J. Vereecken
- Department of Plant Systematics, University of Bayreuth, D-95440 Bayreuth, Germany
- Evolutionary Biology and Ecology, Free University of Brussels/Université Libre de Bruxelles, avenue FD Roosevelt 50 CP 160/12, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium
- Institute of Systematic Botany, University of Zürich, Zollikerstrasse 107, CH-8008 Zürich, Switzerland
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Sporadic food competition with the African honey bee: projected impact on neotropical social bees. JOURNAL OF TROPICAL ECOLOGY 2009. [DOI: 10.1017/s0266467400000699] [Citation(s) in RCA: 83] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
ABSTRACTBee colonies in lowland forest in Panama were monitored for pollen and nectar harvest, pollen species utilization and nectar quality and quantity per returning forager. Despite sharing most pollen resources and nectar of the same quality with 20 introduced colonies of the African honey bee (Apis mellifera), native stingless bees of 12 species were largely unaffected by its activity. Pollen and nectar harvested by the honey bees were 10–200 times that procured by 17 stingless bee colonies. This discrepancy in total harvest and general lack of competitive effect is explained by a honey bee foraging area over 10 times that of the native bees, and apparent foraging shifts to escape competition with honey bees, thus reduced potential overlap in foraging sites.Seven cases of direct resource competition for pollen or nectar were documented, out of 31 tests. Rare periods of intensive harvest were diminished by competing African honey bees. Such harvest peaks lasted for only a few hours in 13 days of observation. Despite average duration of 4% foraging time for each species, peaks included as much as 51% total harvest. Calculations based upon colony populations, food stores and flight range show that if African honey bees persist at a density of 1 colony per km2, colonies of some stingless bee species may disappear after 10 years. Their chances of escaping food competition by taxonomic specialization on flowers seem slight.
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15
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Staheliomyces (Phallales) visited by Trigona (Apidae): melittophily in spore dispersal of an Amazonian stinkhorn? JOURNAL OF TROPICAL ECOLOGY 2009. [DOI: 10.1017/s0266467400009652] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
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CAMARGO JOÃOMF, ROUBIK DAVIDW. Systematics and bionomics of the apoid obligate necrophages: the Trigona hypogea group (Hymenoptera: Apidae; Meliponinae). Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2008. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1095-8312.1991.tb00604.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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17
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Lorenzon MCA, Matrangolo CAR. Foraging on some nonfloral resources by stingless bees (Hymenoptera, Meliponini) in a caatinga region. BRAZ J BIOL 2005; 65:291-8. [PMID: 16097732 DOI: 10.1590/s1519-69842005000200013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
In a caatinga region the flowers and nonfloral resources visited by highly eusocial bees, stingless beess and Apis mellifera (Africanized honey bee) were studied. During one year, monthly sampling took place in two sites at Serra da Capivara National Park (Piauí State, Brazil), one of them, including the local village, outside the park, and the other inside, using already existing park trails. With the help of entomological nets, all bees were caught while visiting floral and nonfloral resources. At the study sites we observed more stingless bees in nonfloral resources, made possible by human presence. Twelve stingless bee species used the nonfloral resources in different proportions, showing no preference for time of day, season of the year, or sites. During the rainy season, more water sources and abundant flowering plants were observed, which attract stingless bees, even though many worker bees were found foraging in the aqueous substrates while few were observed at water sources. This relationship was higher for stingless bee species than for Africanized honey bees. Paratrigona lineata was represented by few specimens in floral and nonfloral resources and is perhaps rare in this region. Frieseomelitta silvestrii could be considered rare in the floral resources, but they were abundant in nonfloral resources. The variety and intriguing abundance of bees in nonfloral resources suggests that these are an important part of the stingless bee niches, even if these resources are used for nest construction and defense.
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Affiliation(s)
- M C A Lorenzon
- Instituto de Zootecnia/DRAA, UFRRJ, BR 465, km 7, CEP 23890-000, Seropédica, RJ, Brazil.
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18
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Camargo JMF, Pedro SRM. Mutualistic Association between a Tiny Amazonian Stingless Bee and a Wax-Producing Scale Insect1. Biotropica 2002. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1744-7429.2002.tb00559.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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19
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Camargo JMF, Pedro SRM. Mutualistic Association between a Tiny Amazonian Stingless Bee and a Wax-Producing Scale Insect1. Biotropica 2002. [DOI: 10.1646/0006-3606(2002)034[0446:mabata]2.0.co;2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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20
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Oliveira ML, Morato EF. Stingless bees (Hymenoptera, Meliponini) feeding on stinkhorn spores (Fungi, Phallales): robbery or dispersal? ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2000. [DOI: 10.1590/s0101-81752000000300025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Marcio L. Oliveira
- Universidade Federal do Acre, Brasil; INPA/Smithsonian Institution, Brasil
| | - Elder F. Morato
- Universidade Federal do Acre, Brasil; INPA/Smithsonian Institution, Brasil
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21
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Cammaerts R. Regurgitation behaviour of the Lasius flavus worker (Formicidae) towards the myrmecophilous beetle Claviger testaceus (Pselaphidae) and other recipients. Behav Processes 1995; 34:241-64. [DOI: 10.1016/0376-6357(94)00068-r] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/30/1994] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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22
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Wallace HM, Trueman SJ. Dispersal of Eucalyptus torelliana seeds by the resin-collecting stingless bee, Trigona carbonaria. Oecologia 1995; 104:12-16. [DOI: 10.1007/bf00365556] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/1994] [Accepted: 04/17/1995] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
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23
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Williams G, Adam P. A review of rainforest pollination and plant-pollinator interactions with particular reference to Australian subtropical rainforests. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 1994. [DOI: 10.7882/az.1994.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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24
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Roubik DW, Ackerman JD. Long-term ecology of euglossine orchid-bees (Apidae: Euglossini) in Panama. Oecologia 1987; 73:321-333. [DOI: 10.1007/bf00385247] [Citation(s) in RCA: 102] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/1987] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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25
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Nectar selection by Melipona and Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae) and the ecology of nectar intake by bee colonies in a tropical forest. Oecologia 1984; 61:1-10. [DOI: 10.1007/bf00379082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 125] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/1983] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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