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Pollen grains in honeys produced by Tetragonisca angustula (Latreille, 1811) (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in tropical semi-arid areas of north-eastern Brazil

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Abstract

The flora of north-eastern Brazil offers a source of nectariferous–polliniferous species that support many native pollinators. However, few studies have examined the plant–Meliponini interaction, especially from the melissopalynological aspect. We assessed the flora exploited by Tetragonisca angustula in two caatinga (dry vegetation) areas in the Brazilian semi-arid region through pollen analysis of honeys with the goal of answering the following questions: (a) What are the most representative pollens found in the honeys? (b) Do certain pollen types function as regional geographic markers? (c) What are the characteristics of the trophic niche of T. angustula in these areas? The honeys (n = 27) were collected every month from October 2010 to December 2011 in Itaberaba and Ruy Barbosa, diluted in tepid water and 95 % ethanol and subsequently acetolysed. The results revealed 67 pollen types in the honeys, with 25 common to both study areas and most of them belonging to the family Fabaceae (>10 types). The most frequent pollen types were Heteropterys, Mikania, Myrcia, Prosopis juliflora and Solanum for Itaberaba and Heteropterys, Mimosa tenuiflora, P. juliflora, Schinus, Senna macranthera, Solanum and Syagrus coronata for Ruy Barbosa. Anadenanthera colubrina, Poincianella pyramidalis and Ziziphus joazeiro were considered markers for caatinga flora. The amplitude of the trophic niche varied between 0.36 and 2.55, while the evenness ranged from 0.15 to 0.77, characterising the foraging habit of T. angustula as polylectic with a more homogeneous use of the flora in Ruy Barbosa than in Itaberaba.

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Acknowledgments

Many thanks to Prof. Carleandro de Souza Dias, M.Sc., for helping us establish contact with bee-keepers and with the Bahia Agricultural Development Company S.A. (Empresa Baiana de Desenvolvimento Agrícola S.A.—EBDA) in Itaberaba, and for providing honey samples from his private bee yard; to the directors of the Mãe Jovina Agricultural Family School (Escola Família Agrícola Mãe Jovina) for granting access to the institution’s bee yard in Ruy Barbosa; to the bee-keepers Alex and Manoel for providing samples; to the intern Bruno Henrique Andrade-Silva for his assistance in monthly collections in the field and in the laboratory; to the regional management and staff of EBDA in Itaberaba for logistical support during field trips; to colleagues from the Laboratory of Plant Micromorphology at the Bahia State University at Feira de Santana (Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana—UEFS) for help in the laboratory identifying pollen types and for discussions throughout this work; to Leilton Santos Damascena, M.Sc., for help with the map; and to the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico—CNPq) for partially funding this project and for the grants awarded (processes 575747/2008-0, 143084/2009-7, 303557/2010-9 and 477127/2011-8).

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  1. Centro de Formação Interdisciplinar and Laboratório de Botânica Taxonômica, Universidade Federal do Oeste do Pará (UFOPA), Rua Vera Paz, s/n, Salé, Santarém, PA, 68035-110, Brazil

    Jaílson Santos de Novais

  2. Laboratório de Palinologia, Coordenação de Biodiversidade, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA), Av. André Araújo, 2.936, Petrópolis, Manaus, AM, 69067-375, Brazil

    Maria Lúcia Absy

  3. Laboratório de Micromorfologia Vegetal, Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana (UEFS), Av. Transnordestina, s/n, Feira de Santana, BA, 44036-900, Brazil

    Francisco de Assis Ribeiro dos Santos

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  1. Jaílson Santos de Novais
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Correspondence to Jaílson Santos de Novais.

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Novais, J.S., Absy, M.L. & Santos, F.A.R. Pollen grains in honeys produced by Tetragonisca angustula (Latreille, 1811) (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in tropical semi-arid areas of north-eastern Brazil. Arthropod-Plant Interactions 7, 619–632 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11829-013-9276-x

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