Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Climatological influences on flight activity of Lepidotrigona flavibasis Cockerell (Hymenoptera: Meliponini)

  • Short Communication
  • Published:
Insectes Sociaux Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Lepidotrigona flavibasis Cockerell, a eusocial bee species, performs a variety of ecological roles in tropical and subtropical ecosystems. This is the first study to evaluate the abiotic effects on the flight activity (exit, exit with garbage, entry, entry with resin, and entry with pollen) of L. flavibasis in the non-native habitat in Hainan province, China. The results showed that the colonies remained active throughout the year, peaking in January for the year and at 11:00 h for the day, respectively. L. flavibasis presented the greatest flight activities in the dry season. All flight activities of L. flavibasis were influenced by temperature and relative humidity. The ambient temperature or relative humidity had a significantly negative influence on flight activity of L. flavibasis. The maximum and minimum temperatures for L. flavibasis activity were recorded at 38 °C and 15 °C, respectively. Understanding the flight activities of L. flavibasis will be helpful for the better maintenance of colonies and improving meliponiculture. The results obtained here can provide information for the future development of techniques for L. flavibasis management and natural or artificial feeding.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author.

References

  • Bellusci S, Marques MD (2001) Circadian activity rhythm of the foragers of a eusocial bee (Scaptotrigona aff depilis, Hymenoptera, Apidae, Meliponinae) outside the nest. Biol Rhythm Res 32:117–124

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Moura MEK, Faita MR, Amandio DTT, Bertoldo JG, Lima VP, Poltronieri AS (2022) Influence of some abiotic factors on the flight activity of stingless bees (Hymenoptera: Meliponini) in Southern Brazil. J Apicult Res. https://doi.org/10.1080/00218839.2022.2028968

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grüter C (2020) Stingless bees: their behaviour, ecology and evolution. Springer Nature, Cham

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Klein S, Cabirol A, Devaud JM, Barron AB, Lihoreau M (2017) Why bees are so vulnerable to environmental stressors. Trends Ecol Evol 32:268–278

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lee S, Duwal RK, Lee W (2016) Diversity of stingless bees (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Meliponini) from Cambodia and Laos. J Asia-Pac Entomol 19:947–961

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mattu VK, Verma LR (1985) Studies on the annual foraging cycle of Apis cerana indica F. in Simla hills of Northwest Himalayas. Apidologie 16:1–8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prado MA, Urrego LE, Duran LI, Hernandez J (2021) Effect of climatic seasonality and vegetation cover on the selection of floral resources by two species of stingless bees. Apidologie 51:974–989

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roubik DW (2006) Stingless bee nesting biology. Apidologie 37:124–143

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Souza-Junior JBF, Teixeira-Souza VHS, Oliveira-Souza A, de Oliveira PF, de Queiroz JPAF, Hrncir M (2020) Increasing thermal stress with flight distance in stingless bees (Melipona subnitida) in the Brazilian tropical dry forest: Implications for constraint on foraging range. J Insect Physiol 123:104056. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinsphys.2020.104056

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wang CY, Zhao M, Wang SJ, Xu HL, Yang YM, Liu LN, Feng Y (2021) The complete mitochondrial genome of Lepidotrigona flavibasis (Hymenoptera: Meliponini) and high gene rearrangement in Lepidotrigona mitogenomes. J Insect Sci 21(10):1–7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wu YR (2000) Hymenoptera melittidae apidae. Fauna Sinica, Insecta, vol 20. Science Press pls, Beijing, pp 1–442

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 31402145) and China Agriculture Research System of MOF and MARA (Grant No. CARS-44-SYZ-11). The authors greatly thank the generous beekeepers in the apiary in Danzhou City, Hainan Province for their full cooperation they made in this study. We also thank Mr. Hengxue Qiu, Mr. Jianguang Chen, Mr. Xianwen Chen, Mr. Ping He and Mr. Yantang Sun for their valuable help in the field during experimentation. The authors are also grateful to Dr. Abebe Jenberie Wubie for reviewing this paper prior to submission.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Environment and Plant Protection Institute, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Haikou, Hainan, People’s Republic of China

    J.-L. Gao & S.-J. Wang

  2. Key Laboratory of Green Prevention and Control of Tropical Plant Diseases and Pests (Ministry of Education), School of Plant Protection, Hainan University, Haikou, Hainan, People’s Republic of China

    Y.-X. Zou

  3. College of Applied Science and Technology, Hainan University, Danzhou, Hainan, People’s Republic of China

    Y. Chen

Authors
  1. Y.-X. Zou
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. J.-L. Gao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Y. Chen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. S.-J. Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

Methodology, data curation, investigation and visualization: Y-XZ; resources, project administration and validation: J-LG; methodology, investigation and visualization: YC; conceptualization, validation, formal analysis and writing and project administration: S-JW.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to S.-J. Wang.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Zou, YX., Gao, JL., Chen, Y. et al. Climatological influences on flight activity of Lepidotrigona flavibasis Cockerell (Hymenoptera: Meliponini). Insect. Soc. 70, 353–356 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00040-023-00922-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00040-023-00922-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation