Flower visits, nesting and nest defence behaviour of stingless bees (Apidae: Meliponini): suitability of the bee species for meliponiculture in the Argentinean Chaco region Favio Vossler To cite this version: Favio Vossler. Flower visits, nesting and nest defence behaviour of stingless bees (Apidae: Meliponini): suitability of the bee species for meliponiculture in the Argentinean Chaco region. Apidologie, Springer Verlag, 2012, 43 (2), pp.139-161. 10.1007/s13592-011-0097-6. hal-01003637 HAL Id: hal-01003637 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01003637 Submitted on 1 Jan 2012 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Apidologie (2012) 43:139–161 Original article * INRA, DIB-AGIB and Springer-Verlag, France, 2012 DOI: 10.1007/s13592-011-0097-6 Flower visits, nesting and nest defence behaviour of stingless bees (Apidae: Meliponini): suitability of the bee species for meliponiculture in the Argentinean Chaco region Favio Gerardo VOSSLER CONICET, Laboratorio de Sistemática y Biología Evolutiva (LASBE). Museo de La Plata, Paseo del Bosque s/n., 1900 La Plata, Argentina Received 28 March 2011 – Revised 31 August 2011 – Accepted 18 September 2011 Abstract – Four bionomical features are here described for the seven stingless bees that inhabit a new meliponine beekeeping area: the Argentinean Chaco region. The most commonly visited plants were of herbaceous habits, predominantly had flowers of white/creamy to yellowish colour, with small-sized flowers and were of moderate mass-flowering degree. Lestrimelitta chacoana was the only robber species. The most commonly found nesting substrate was large living tree trunks, and most nests were found at the base of the trunks. Sometimes, nesting substrates and floral resources were provided by the same woody plant. Cryptic small- to medium-sized cerumen tube-like unornamented nest entrances were the most commonly found. Nest defence included aggressive (Scaptotrigona jujuyensis) and docile behaviour; the latter was classified into timid and non-timid. A key to identify the Meliponini fauna of this region is provided. The regional pattern of bionomical features seems to be associated with subtropical climate conditions. The majority of these bee species are suitable for Meliponiculture in the Chaco region. aggressive bee / dead tree trunk / docile bee / living tree trunk / subtropical Meliponini bees Around the world, stingless bees display 1. INTRODUCTION considerable diversity in food sources, nesting substrates, nest entrance architecture and nest Meliponini are the eusocial bees characteris- defence behaviour (Schwarz 1948; Wille and tic of the moist tropics of the world, and their Michener 1973; Roubik 1982, 2006; Camargo richness decreases towards the temperate and Roubik 1991; Camargo and Pedro 2002, regions of the subtropics (Michener 1990; Alves 2004; Couvillon et al. 2008; Rasmussen and dos Santos 1999). In the Neotropical region, Camargo 2008). Like all bees excepting the stingless bee distribution extends to about 35° S parasite genera, they forage on flowers for (Michener 2007), including the Chaco forests of pollen and nectar. Stingless bees are polylectic central South America (the Chaco region). or generalists because they collect pollen from several non-related plant families (Robertson 1925; Michener 2007). Sugar sources are Corresponding author: F.G. Vossler, commonly supplied by nectar from flowers. [email protected] However, hemipterophily (collection of honey- Manuscript editor: Klaus Hartfelder dew) exists in some Trigona species, Oxy- 140 F.G. Vossler trigona tataira (Smith), and Schwarzula cocci- like, funnel-like, mouth-like, etc.), size and dophila Camargo and Pedro (Laroca and Saka- external sculpturing (presence of root-like kibara 1976; Camargo and Pedro 2002). Pollen projections in Lestrimelitta, etc.; Wille and is the main protein source; however, animal Michener 1973; Roubik 19839, , 198 2006; protein can also be consumed. Facultative Camargo and Pedro 2003). necrophagy occurs in Melipona grandis Gué- Nest defence behaviour from humans has rin, Cephalotrigona capitata (Smith) and been classified in different ways. Michener Trigona pallens (Fabricius), among others, (1961) grouped Australian and New Guinean and obligate necrophagy in the Trigona cras- Trigona s.l. as non-aggressive, moderately sipes species group (Schwarz 1948; Roubik aggressive and strongly aggressive. Roubik 1982; Camargo and Roubik 1991;Noll1997; (2006), reviewing the nest defence behaviour Rasmussen and Camargo 2008). Furthermore, of the Meliponini, included timid (if bees retreat Lestrimelitta and Cleptotrigona species, Meli- within the nest entrance when approached by an pona fuliginosa Lepeletier and possibly Tri- intruder), aggressive (if bees attack the intruder) chotrigona extranea Camargo and Moure are and tremendously aggressive (if bees use irritant robbers of pollen and honey stored in the nests chemical defence, as in Oxytrigona, or if they of other stingless bee genera (Sakagami and bite hard whilst applying sticky resin, as in Laroca 1953; Roubik 1983; Camargo and Ptilotrigona). Couvillon et al. (2008) grouped Pedro 2007b). Robber stingless bees are consid- stingless bees into aggressive, mildly defensive ered a threat to Meliponiculture as they attack, rob and timid. Rasmussen and Camargo (2008) and even kill the reared colonies (Schwarz 1948; grouped the Neotropical Trigona s.s. as aggres- Sakagami and Laroca 1953). sive vs. non-aggressive or docile. Knowledge of Meliponini colonies are perennial and most the defence behaviour of the bee species of a nests are built in preexisting hollows within region is useful for Meliponiculture practices, different substrates such as tree trunks (living allowing beekeepers to select suitable bee and dead), ground, brick walls and active nests species for rearing. of termites, ants or wasps. Most aerial nests It has been suggested by Camargo and (exposed and semi-exposed) house aggressive Moure (1994, 1996) that the Chaco region is species (Roubik 2006). Nesting substrates may an interesting area to study speciation in be species-specific and highly diverse even Meliponini due to the shared biogeographical within the same genus, e.g. Partamona, Trigona distribution of the three endemic Meliponini s.s. (Wille and Michener 1973; Roubik 1989, taxa: Geotrigona argentina Camargo and 2006; Camargo and Pedro 2003; Rasmussen Moure, Paratrigona glabella Camargo and and Camargo 2008). In the Chaco region, the Moure, and Tetragonisca fiebrigi (Schwarz). forest has been degraded mainly by agriculture, The relationship between the woody flora and logging and grazing, leaving isolated forest Meliponini bees in the Chaco forest is currently fragments. These practices constitute a threat threatened by forest fragmentation and logging. to tree trunk-dependent animals such as several In this scenario, beekeeping with Meliponini stingless bee species. bees (Meliponiculture) should be a good prac- Nest entrance architecture is species-specific tice for the conservation of both forest vegeta- and highly diverse in stingless bees (Camargo tion and native stingless bees. The cultural 1970; Roubik 2006). The nest entrance features importance of the Chaquenian stingless bees are the results of a compromise between the wasstressedbyArenas(2003). However, functional roles of defensivity and foraging several biological aspects remain scarcely un- traffic (Couvillon et al. 2008). This structure derstood. Meliponiculture has been considered include a wide variety of building material as a sustainable activity through the forests of (cerumen, mud, sand, resin, plant and animal the world due to its ecological, economic and particles, either mixed or pure), shape (tube- cultural implications (Venturieri et al. 2003). Bionomics of the Chaquenian stingless bees 141 Therefore, it can be integrated into forestry, fruit that Meliponiculture is still a rudimentary crop pollination and short cycle cultures con- practice compared with that of tropical areas. tributing to wild plant and crop pollination, honey, pollen and wax production, and preser- 2. MATERIALS AND METHODS vation of traditional knowledge about bees, as well as the conservation of this regional 2.1. Study area Meliponini fauna. To achieve an in-depth knowledge of the bionomical aspects of bees The Chaco region consists of a large sedimentary in this new meliponine beekeeping area, the plain covered by xerophylous and riverean forests of present work was conducted during different about 1,000,000 km2, extending north and south of seasons over a 6-year period and in several the Tropic of Capricorn (23° S) over northern environments (natural forests and human popu- Argentina, western Paraguay, southeastern Bolivia lated areas) from six localities. In this way, it and the extreme western edge of Mato Grosso do Sul was possible to identify a wide range of state in Brazil (Prado 1993; Figure 1). The Chaco bionomical features. forest is a semiarid forest crossed by few active rivers The bionomical features of the