Felipe Andrés León Contrera

The Role of Useful Microorganisms to Stingless Bees and Stingless Beekeeping

Bacteria, molds, and yeasts associated with bees have been studied for a long period. Although they seem to play an important role for bee nutrition and protection against harmful microorganisms, few studies have focused on their function and this subject is still very controversial. Although stingless bees (Apidae: Meliponini) share many similarities with Apis mellifera, this diverse group still conceals many particularities that have not been explored at all. In this chapter, we discuss the role of non-pathogenic microorganisms from stingless bee colonies and we focus on their applicability to stingless bee keeping. Our aim is to stimulate studies on functional aspects of microorganisms from stingless bees and their products where upon microorganisms are involved.

The bigger, the smaller: relationship between body size and food stores in the stingless bee Melipona flavolineata

Worker body size is a key feature for stingless bee biology, being related with the foraging range of colonies. We correlated the intertegular span, corbicular area, head width, and interocular distance, as well as the fresh weight, from workers of Melipona flavolineata, a species from the Amazonian Region, with the stored reserves of honey and pollen. The food reserves decreased with the increase of rainfall, and there was a significant correlation between intertegular span, corbicular area, and food stores. The corbiculae was inversely correlated with food reserves, while the width of thorax was positively related. We consider the allometric variation of thorax width and corbicular area as a mechanism to adjust colonial food collection, since larger corbiculae would maximize the pollen-gathering during the rainy, dearth periods, and when the resource supply increases, the workers increase in the width of thorax, being able to explore larger areas and replenish the colonial food stores.

Forest reserves and riparian corridors help maintain orchid bee (Hymenoptera: Euglossini) communities in oil palm plantations in Brazil

Orchid bees (Apidae, Euglossini) are important pollinators in the Amazon forest. In eastern Brazilian Amazon, secondary forest and pastures are being replaced by oil palm plantations. Here, we tested the role of forest reserves and riparian corridors in maintaining orchid bees. We sampled bees in three different soil-type uses, comparing richness, abundance, and assemblage composition. Estimated richness was lowest in palm plantations than in forest reserves and riparian corridors on diversity of orchid bees. Riparian corridors had the highest abundance, followed by reserves, and oil palm plantations. Bee assemblage also varied with land cover, with the reserves having the most distinct composition. We also identified indicator bees for primary forest. Our results demonstrate riparian corridors and forest reserves can maintain orchid bees in oil palm landscapes.

Time-place learning in the bee Melipona fasciculata (Apidae, Meliponini)

Nectar and pollen are highly sought-after resources by different species of animals, including several stingless bees. Thus, learning the location of and time when a resource is available should be advantageous. This study investigated whether the stingless bee, Melipona fasciculata, exhibits food-anticipatory activity to maximize the exploitation of a renewable resource, an artificial food source with a restricted time schedule, which simulates an inflorescence. Our results showed that food-anticipatory activity occurs in this bee species, and foragers made periodic inspection visits before and after the feeder was available. These capabilities may have evolved to maximize the exploitation of profitable, short-lived food sources, as well as to minimize competition with other colonies and other animals. These differences are discussed and compared with different recruitment strategies and resource exploitation strategies in bees.

Effect of honey harvest on the activities of Melipona (Melikerria) fasciculata Smith, 1854 workers

The foraging behavior of stingless bees is related to the availability of resources and the needs of the colony. Stingless bees have preferences for specific resources to maintain the nest which can change in response to natural or anthropogenic environmental stresses such as the harvesting of honey. To understand their behavior after traditional honey harvest, six colonies of Melipona fasciculata were monitored during three different periods. Foraging standards and biometric parameters of the colonies were determined during the period before honey harvest (PI) and 5 and 35 d after the honey harvest (PII and PIII, respectively). The amount of foraging activity significantly increased after the harvest with the colonies preferring nectar for food and mud or resin for rebuilding the colony. During PIII, foraging activity re-stabilized with the workers being less active, similar to that in PI, and revealed a trade-off between required resources over a short period. Most of the foraging bees were classified as specialists, and this did not vary in response to the harvest. The colonies responded defensively to honey extraction, with more workers acting as guards after the harvest.

Effects of habitat type change on taxonomic and functional composition of orchid bees (Apidae: Euglossini) in the Brazilian Amazon

Land use change impact species richness and functional diversity (FD). In the Brazilian Amazon, we examined the impacts of oil palm plantations on orchid bee (Apidae: Euglossini) species using abundance and FD. We collected male orchid bees in oil palm plantation (PALM), legal reserves (LR), and riparian corridors (APP), and then we used morphological and life-history traits to characterize each species. We evaluated differences in bee body size by comparing intertegular span values. We tested the influence of habitat on taxonomic and functional parameters of orchid bees by applying a partial redundancy analysis (pRDA). We contrasted FD by calculating species richness, functional richness, and functional dispersion. We sampled 1176 bees from 30 species in 18 sampling days across 2015 and 2016. Males from PALM were 13.6% bigger than those in LR areas, and bees from APP showed a similar pattern compared to LR and PALM. Less than 15% of the variation in species composition was related to the distance among sampling sites, and 8% was due to habitat structure. In our pRDA, the spatial difference explained 6% of the variation in orchid bee traits, but there were no effects of habitat parameters upon FD. FD was reduced with land use change caused by oil palm plantations. Our findings support the belief that many bees are impacted by cultivated lands. Nevertheless, the functional similarity between LRs and APPs reflects common structural elements between them, although we did not find significant relationship between functional composition and habitat structure that we evaluated.

A scientific note on the use of external feeders for the Amazonian stingless bee Melipona flavolineata (Apidae, Meliponini)

Artificial feeding of stingless bee colonies is widely applied in meliponiculture to maintain colonies in good conditions during periods of natural food scarcity. Traditionally, most stingless beekeepers tend to adopt the individual feeding of colonies, to avoid conflicts among colonies or competition with feral species. We trained foragers from Melipona flavolineata colonies to collective feeders containing sugar syrup, and showed they are useful for the management of this species, since they did not cause significant intra and interspecific conflicts, and thus, worker losses. Besides, most colonies from the meliponary frequented the feeder, showing that collective feeding in this species is possible and can be recommended to keep colonies in good condition during periods of natural food dearth or after honey harvesting.