Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Floral Preference of Melipona eburnea Friese (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in a Colombian Andean Region

  • Ecology, Behavior and Bionomics
  • Published:
Neotropical Entomology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

An Erratum to this article was published on 18 December 2013

Abstract

Melipona eburnea Friese is a stingless bee kept in some regions of Colombia, where it is reported to be vulnerable to extinction due to habitat disturbance. To contribute to raising conservation strategies, the aim of this study was to identify the floral preferences of this species using melissopalynological analysis. A total of 31 pollen pot samples and 37 honey samples were taken from March 2009 through March 2010 from four colonies in Fusagasuga, Colombia. We found 92 pollen types: 17 from pollen pot samples, 39 from honey samples (indicating the sources of nectar), and 36 in both types of samples. The most frequent pollen types in the pollen pot samples were Myrcia type (100%), Eucalyptus globulus (96.9%), and Fraxinus uhdei (96.9%). The most frequent pollen types in honey samples were E. globulus (97.4%) and Myrcia type (94.9%). The pollen types corresponded mainly to native plants (68%), trees (44.5%), plants whose sexual system is hermaphroditic (56.5%), and plants with inflorescences (76.2%). The most frequent shapes of the flowers were brush-like (type Myrtaceae) and dish-like (type Asteraceae), and the preferred flower colors were white or cream (52.2%). In general, we found that M. eburnea showed a strong preference for trees of the family Myrtaceae to obtain nectar and pollen, including native and introduced species. Some other families are contributing significantly, such as Melastomataceae for pollen collection and Asteraceae for nectar. These results highlight the key plant species for the diet of M. eburnea.

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
Fig 2
Fig 3
Fig 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Antonini Y, Costa RG, Martins RP (2006) Floral preferences of a neotropical stingless bee, Melipona quadrifasciata Lepeletier (Apidae: Meliponini) in an urban forest fragment. Rev Bras Biol 66(2A):463–471

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bush MB, Weng C (2007) Introducing a new (freeware) tool for palynology. J Biogeogr 34(3):377–380

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Caccavari M, Fagúndez G (2010) Pollen spectra of honeys from the Middle Delta of the Paraná River (Argentina) and their environmental relationship. Span J Agric Res 8(1):42–52

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Camargo JMF & Pedro SRM (2008) Meliponini Lepeletier, 1836. In: Moure JS, Urban D & Melo GAR (Orgs). Catalogue of bees (Hymenoptera, Apoidea) in the neotropical region—online version. http://moure.cria.org.br/

  • Cane JH & Sipes SD (2006) Characterizing floral specialization by bees:analytical methods and a revised lexicon for oligolecty. In: Waser NM, 364 Ollerton J (eds) Specialization and generalization in plant–pollinator interactions. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL, pp 99–120

  • Carvalho CA, Moreti AC, Marchini LC, Alves RM, Oliveira PC (2001) Pollen spectrum of honey of “uruçu” bee (Melipona scutellaris Latreille, 1811). Braz J Biol 61(1):63–67

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Colinvaux PA, De Oliveira P & Moreno JE (2001) Amazon pollen manual and atlas/manual e atlas palinologico da Amazonia. Harwood Academic, Amsterdam, 331 pp

  • Cortopassi-Laurino M, Ramalho M (1988) Pollen harvest by Africanized Apis mellifera and Trigona spinipes in São Pauo Brazil. Botanical and ecological views. Apidologie 19(1):1–24

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dafni A, Kevan PG, Husband BC (2005) Practical pollination biology. Enviroquest Ltd., Cambridge, ON, Canada, 590 pp

  • Heard T (1999) The role of stingless bees in crop pollination. Annu Rev Entomol 44:183–206

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Imperatriz-Fonseca VL, Kleinert-Giovannini A, Ramalho M (1989) Pollen harvest by eusocial bees in a non-natural community in Brazil. J Trop Ecol 5(2):239–242

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • León JD, Vélez G, Yepes AP (2009) Estructura y composición florística de tres robledales en la región norte de la Cordillera Central de Colombia. Rev Biol Trop 57(4):1165–1182

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lopezaraiza-Mikel M, Hayes R, Whalley M, Memmott J (2007) The impact of an alien plant on a native plant–pollinator network: an experimental approach. Ecol Lett 10:539–550

    Google Scholar 

  • Louveaux BJ, Maurizio A, Vorwohl G (1978) Methods and terminology in melissopalynology. Rev Palaeobot Palyno (59):139–157

  • Marazzi B, Conti E, Endress PK (2007) Diversity in anthers and stigmas in the buzz–pollinated genus Senna (Leguminosae, Cassiinae). Int J Plant Sci 168(4):371–391

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moscoso LB, Diez MC (2005) Banco de semillas en un bosque de roble de la Cordillera Central Colombiana. Rev Fac Nal Agr Medellín 58(2):2931–2943

    Google Scholar 

  • Nates-Parra G (2005) Abejas corbiculadas de Colombia (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Universidad Nacional de Colombia publications, Bogotá, Colombia, 156 pp

  • Nates-Parra G (2007) Abeja real, Melipona eburnea (Friese,1900). In: Amat GG, Gonzalo Andrade M & Eduardo Amat G (eds). Libro Rojo de los Invertebrados Terrestres de Colombia. Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Conservación Internacional Colombia, Instituto Alexander von Humboldt, Ministerio de Ambiente, Vivienda y Desarrollo Territorial, pp 147–150

  • Nates-Parra G, Rodriguez-C A (2011) Forrajeo en colonias de Melipona eburnea (Hymenoptera: Apidae) en el piedemonte llanero (Meta), Colombia. Rev Colomb Entomol 37(1):121–127

    Google Scholar 

  • Oliveira-Alves R, Lopes De Carvalho C, Almeeida Souza B (2006) Espectro polínico de amostras de mel de Melipona mandacaia Smith 1863, (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Act Sci Biol Sci Maringá 28(1):65–70

    Google Scholar 

  • Pinto da Luz CF, Fernandes-Salomão TM, Alvarenga LG, Canto H, García M, & Oliveira LA (2011) Pollen sources for Melipona capixaba Moure & Camargo: an endangered Brazilian stingless bee. Psyche 2011, Article ID 107303, 7 pp

  • Politis GG, Martinez GA (1997) Caza, recolección y pesca como estrategia de explotación de recursos en forestas tropicales lluviosas: los Nukak de la amazonia colombiana. Rev Española de Antropología Americana 27(7400):167–197

    Google Scholar 

  • Ramalho M (1990) Foraging by stingless bees of the genus, Scaptotrigona (Apidae, Meliponinae). J Apic Res 29(2):61–67

    Google Scholar 

  • Ramalho M (2004) Stingless bees and mass flowering trees in the canopy of Atlantic Forest: a tight relationship. Acta Bot Bras 18(1):37–47

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ramalho M, Silva M, Carvalho E (2007) Dinâmica de uso de fontes de pólen por Melipona scutellaris Latreille (Hymenoptera: Apidae): uma análise comparativa com Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae), no Domínio Tropical Atlântico. Neotrop Entomol 36(1):38–45

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Roubik D (1989) Ecology and natural history of tropical bees. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 516 pp

  • Roubik DW (1993) Tropical pollinators in the canopy and understory: field data and theory for stratum “preferences”. J Insect Behav 6(6):659–673

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roubik DW, Moreno JE (1991) Pollen and spores of Barro Colorado Island. Brittonia 44(1):75

    Google Scholar 

  • Roubik D, Sakai S, Hamid A, Nagamitsu T, Inoue T (2005) Floral resource utilization by atingless bees (Apidae, Meliponini). In: Roubik D, Sakai S, Hamid A (eds) Pollination ecology and the rain forest, vol. 174. Springer, New York, pp 73–88

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Roulston H, Cane JH, Buchmann L (2000) What governs protein content of pollen: pollinator preferences, pollen–pistil interactions, or phylogeny? Ecol Monogr 70(4):617–643

    Google Scholar 

  • Torezan-Silingardi HM, De Oliveira P (2004) Phenology and reproductive ecology of Myrcia rostrata and M. tomentosa (Myrtaceae) in central Brazil. Phyton 44(1):23–43

    Google Scholar 

  • Traveset A, Richardson DM (2006) Biological invasions as disruptors of plant reproductive mutualisms. Trends Ecol Evol 21:208–216

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We thank Cesar Talero and Jose Omar Castellanos for allowing the observations we carried out in their meliponaries and the team from the Bee Research Laboratory (LABUN) for its collaboration. We also thank Jorge Velez for his assistance in plant identification and Katja Poveda, Patricia Nunes Silva, and Christopher Stieha for their suggestions. Thanks to Fernando B. Noll for the editing process. Thanks also to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the National University of Colombia (Department of Biology, Faculty of Agronomy) for funding this project, and the Laboratory of Palynology and Paleoecology of the Institute of Natural Sciences for allowing us to consult the laboratory’s pollen collection.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Universidad de la Salle, Km 12 vía Manantiales, Hacienda Matepantano, Campus Utopía, Yopal, Casanare, Colombia

    D Obregon

  2. Depto de Biología, Univ Nacional de Colombia, Lab de Investigaciones en Abejas (LABUN), Bogotá, Cundinamarca, Colombia

    D Obregon & G Nates-Parra

Authors
  1. D Obregon
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. G Nates-Parra
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to D Obregon.

Additional information

Edited by Fernando B Noll – UNESP

Electronic Supplementary Material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

ESM 1

(DOCX 44 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Obregon, D., Nates-Parra, G. Floral Preference of Melipona eburnea Friese (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in a Colombian Andean Region. Neotrop Entomol 43, 53–60 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13744-013-0172-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13744-013-0172-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation