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Nesting ecology and nest characteristics of stingless bees (Apidae: Meliponini) in Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia

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Abstract

Stingless bees play a key role in natural environments and human economy because of their pollination services and high-value products. However, information on their nesting habitats and nest characteristics is scarce for almost all Ethiopian stingless bee species. To gain insights into the nest ecology and biology of stingless bees in the country, different habitats from 11 districts were assessed and general nest properties, such as entrance dimension, shape, entrance tunnel length, nest size, nesting substrate and internal nest architecture, were characterized. A total of 49 natural nests of two stingless bee species belonging to two genera: Meliponula and Liotrigona were found. The 47 nests of Meliponula baccarii (M. baccarii) (Gribodo) were found under the ground at an average depth of 50.50 ± 9.32 cm in three different soil types, while the two nests of Liotrigona bottegoi (L. bottegoi) were found in the cavities of Albizia shimperiana trunks at the heights of 2.8 and 3.0 m above the ground. Nest architecture and biology differed greatly between species but similar within each. Though the basic nest architecture and biology were similar within the species, they varied in size from nest to nest. The above characteristics therefore can be used for the management and conservation of the species. Finally, the data on nesting substrates, nest architecture and nest biology are of outmost importance for future designing suitable bee hives for keeping both species and also to conserve the natural nesting sites for their future utilization in pollination.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the Oromia Agricultural Research Institute through the Holeta Bee Research Center for funding this research. We would also like to extend our special thanks to the technical staff of Holeta Bee Research Center, in particular Mr. Terefe Chimdi and Tesfaye Teshome, for their help during data collection. Finally, we owe our genuine appreciation to Getachew Haile, a GIS expert, who helped prepare the distribution map.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Oromia Agricultural Research Institute, Holeta Bee Research Center, P.O. Box 22, Holeta, Ethiopia

    Zewdu Ararso Hora, Alemayehu Gela Bayeta & Taye Negera

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  1. Zewdu Ararso Hora
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  2. Alemayehu Gela Bayeta
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  3. Taye Negera
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Contributions

Z.A.H and A.G.B conceived this research and designed the experiments. Z.A.H performed the experiment and data analysis. Both authors were involved in the interpretation of data and editing of the manuscript. T.N was involved in data collection.

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Correspondence to Zewdu Ararso Hora.

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Hora, Z.A., Bayeta, A.G. & Negera, T. Nesting ecology and nest characteristics of stingless bees (Apidae: Meliponini) in Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia. Int J Trop Insect Sci 43, 409–417 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42690-023-00946-3

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