Desenvolvimento colonial em abelhas nativas sem ferrão Amazônicas (Apidae: Meliponini): tamanho populacional, nutrição e alocação fenotípica

Abstract

Meliponines or stingless bees comprise a diverse and abundant group of eusocial bees, which live in perennial colonies and have a wide range of behavioral characteristics. The general objective of this thesis is to understand population dynamics and developmental patterns of Amazonian stingless bee species. In Section I, we evaluated the population size and several biological characteristics of colonies (e.g. worker external activity, queen egg-laying rate) of five stingless bee species in order to understand how colony characteristics relate to population size. We found an average adult population of 1,046.00 in Melipona flavolineata, Friese, 1900, 592.75 in Melipona fasciculata, Smith, 1854, 7,404.00 in Scaptotrigona aff. postica (Latreille, 1807), 2,425.33 in Frieseomelitta longipes (Smith, 1854) and 404.75 in Plebeia minima (Gribodo, 1893). External activity was the variable that best explained population size. In Section II we investigate the longevity of stingless bee workers fed soy-based diets. Our objective was to compare the effect of a semi-artificial soybean diet versus a natural diet on the longevity of adult workers of two stingless bee species (Melipona flavolineata Friese, 1900 e Scaptotrigona aff. postica (Latreille, 1807)). We found a higher longevity in workers that consumed only pollen compared to those that consumed the soybean diet for both species studied. Finally, In Section III we evaluated the phenotypic allocation in stingless bees. In this work we investigate phenotypic allocation as a response to climatic and environmental variation, using the stingless bee Melipona fasciculata Smith, 1854 as a model species. Our results reveal that phenotypic allocation in M. fasciculata was strongly associated with seasonal variation and not the quality of the environment (local). The production of virgin queens was influenced by season and year (being higher in the dry season), but not by location. Male production was explained by season and local environmental variables and season and study year influenced the percentage of workers produced, showing differences between years. We believe that this thesis contributes to our understanding of the natural history of Amazonian stingless bees and the development of regional meliponicultural practices.