Melipona bicolor

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Melipona bicolor
Melipona.bicolor.jpg
M. bicolor workers in nest
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Apidae
Genus: Melipona
Species:
M. bicolor
Binomial name
Melipona bicolor
Lepeletier, 1836 [1]

Melipona bicolor Lepeletier, 1836, commonly known as Guaraipo or Guarupu, is a eusocial bee found primarily in South America. It is an inhabitant of the Araucaria Forest and the Atlantic Rainforest, and is most commonly found from South to East Brazil, Bolivia, Argentina, and Paraguay. [2] It prefers to nest close to the soil, in hollowed trunks or roots of trees. [3] M. bicolor is a member of the tribe Meliponini, and is therefore a stingless bee. This species is unique among the stingless bees species because it is polygynous, which is rare for eusocial bees. [4]

Contents

Taxonomy and phylogeny

M. bicolor belongs to the genus Melipona and the tribe Meliponini, which comprises about 500 species of stingless bees. Although they are called stingless, these bees do have a stinger, but it is extremely small and cannot be used for defense. [5] M. bicolor is closely related to the other 40 known species in the genus Melipona.[ clarification needed ]

Description and identification

M. bicolor bees in the nest Melipona.bicolor.2.jpg
M. bicolor bees in the nest

M. bicolor is about 8 to 9mm long and have a stocky body. Coloration can vary from yellow to dark yellow. The males have either black or green eyes.

Nest structure

The entrance to a M. bicolor nest Melipona bicolor nest entrance.jpg
The entrance to a M. bicolor nest

As with all Melipona species, M. bicolor build well-protected nests inside pre-existing cavities. Their nests typically have a single entrance, which is long and narrow and penetrates deep into the nest. The nest cavity consists of two parts: a well-developed involucrum, surrounding a nest consisting of several layers of horizontally arranged combs, and outside the involucrum, which house a number of food pots. A significant amount of food can be stored in these pollen and honey pots. The pots can be large, getting as big as 4 cm in diameter. The pots sizes do vary with the state of the colony however. [6]

Interior

Inside the nest, the brood combs are constructed sequentially; these combs are removed as soon as the brood emerges from the cells. M. bicolor engage in a process called Provision and Oviposition Process, or POP. This process encapsulates nest construction, mass provisioning, egg laying, and cell closure. [6]

Distribution of M. bicolor Region Map of M. bicolor.png
Distribution of M. bicolor

Distribution and habitat

M. bicolor live predominantly in forests and rainforests in South America, particularly Brazil. They build their nests close to the soil, often in hollow roots or tree trunks. Although common in the past, they are now a relatively rare species due to the destruction of the rainforest in which these bees used to live, mainly because the growing of the cities and for agriculture. [4]

The colonies of M. bicolor are very sensitive to the moisture level in the air, and cannot survive in dry areas.[ citation needed ] This is also the reason the nests are usually built in the lower and more humid part of tree trunks.[ citation needed ]

Colony cycle

The queen lays her eggs during POP, and as with other Hymenoptera, the haplo-diploid system of sex determination makes it possible for the queen to choose whether to produce a male or female egg. This is possible due to the spermatheca, which permits or withholds sperm, to fertilize the egg as it passes along the oviduct. During POP, workers fill the cell with liquid food that is a mixture of pollen and nectar. After the cells are filled, the queen lays her egg on top of the liquid and the worker closes the cell. Once the eggs hatch, the larvae eat the food and pupate. [7]

Behavior

Division of labor

Common amongst eusocial bees, females make up the worker and queen populations. The workers are responsible for tasks including nest defense, brood care, colony maintenance, and provisioning. The queen influences the physiology and behavior of the workers, which are infertile females. The only role the males plays is in reproduction; his function is to mate with the queen and supply the necessary genetic complementation for reproduction. [8]

Communication

Chemical signaling

In Melipona bees, there exists a precise system of chemical communication in order to maintain the organization of the various activities constantly being performed by individuals. This chemical communication is based on the production of pheromones, which are substances with intra-specific action. Numerous exocrine glands across the bee body produce these pheromones. [8]

Sound signaling

Melipona bicolor also communicates through sound, particularly between foraging parties. [9] As a member of the foraging party happens upon an area of high-quality food, it increases the length and frequency of emitted sounds in order to attract other members of the party towards the food source. The recruitment sounds also increase in duration as the distance to the food source increases. [9] Sound production offers a way for members of a foraging party to communicate, even when out of site of each other, while maximizing the group's ability to acquire food.

Mating behavior

M. bicolor Queen Melipona.bicolor.queen.jpg
M. bicolor Queen

Queen bees

M. bicolor exhibits a rare case of mating amongst stingless bees. It is facultatively polygynous, meaning one or more physogastric queens can be found in the same colony. [7] These queens interact with each other within the colony. They may rest together in a common court, and exhibit an interesting behavior when active. During the patrolling phase, a queen attempts to touch the abdomen of another queen. The other queen turns her abdomen away, and what follows is the two queens circling one another, trying to touch the other's abdomen. This circling behavior typically ends with the queens standing side by side with their heads toward the cell. In a polygnous colony, the queens are almost always in motion. [6]

Virgin queens

Virgin queens are also tolerated in M. bicolor. They have not only been observed walking around the nest, but also standing close to one of the egg-laying queens during POP. This suggests a more egalitarian dominance relationship amongst the species. [7]

Polygyny

There is an advantage to polygyny during situations where a colony must rapidly produce brood cells, such as during periods of food scarcity. Under these conditions, the queens are limited in their egg production and rely on the larval food from the brood cells. Polygyny allows for a greater production rate for the colony. It is speculated that alternating periods of significant flowering of food plants and food shortages are the ecological condition that favors polygyny. [6]

Flight activity

M. bicolor are mostly active outside of their nest in the morning, when humidity is high and light intensity and temperature are moderate. They forage for food in the first few hours of the morning, a trend similar to that of the species Melipona quadrifasciata . However, they tend to collect mud and resin mostly in twilight. Further, they typically exit the nest with debris during the first hours of the morning, and again at twilight. Temperature is the most important environmental factor concerning the external activity of Melipona bees. M. bicolor also exhibit greater flight activity when the relative humidity is high. This may because of their habitats of high humidity, and being accustomed to fog. The strength of the colony also affects the times when the workers are most active. [3]

Kin selection

Worker–queen conflict

In some cases, workers of many species of stingless bees, including M. bicolor are able to lay eggs and produce male offspring. M. bicolor worker bees can lay two morphologically distinct type of eggs: some have a patterned chorion, and others are unpatterned. If the worker lays an unpatterened egg, she typically leaves the cell, which gives the queen the ability to eat this egg. However, sometimes workers lay patterned eggs after the brood cell is filled with food, and quickly close the cell right after. The worker could lay these eggs either before the queen has oviposited, or soon after, which would result in two eggs in the same brood cell. If the queen does not eat the eggs, the worker typically succeeds in producing male offspring. [7]

Interaction with other species

Predators

The predators for M. bicolor include many of the same predators for other Meliponini species, such as birds, lizards, spiders, and mammals such as tayras and kinkajous. [10] Since they are a species of stingless bee, they do not have a great defense against predators.

Diet

M. bicolor is polylectic, meaning the species gathers pollen from many different species of flowering plants. However, they prefer pollen from Myrtaceae, Melastomataceae, and Solanaceae. While sex determination in Melipona is genetic, food plays a vital role as it can maximize the queens' production. Excess pollen is harvested during the winter, which allows the colony to produce more larval food. [11]

Human importance

Agriculture

M. bicolor produces a honey similar to most Melipona bees species, which is distinct from Apis honey, and is thus frequently reared by meliponine beekeepers. But this is not as common as with the species from the Amazon region, where M. bicolor bees are not found. That region has great potential for production of stingless bee honey; with the recent initiatives towards sustainable development of the Amazon rain forest, the production of honey is bound to increase. [12]

Since M. bicolor is a very tame species of stingless bee, they are great for beekeeping. Each colony can produce about 2 liters of a tasteful honey for season, or even more in warm regions.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Worker bee</span> Caste of honey bee

A worker bee is any female bee that lacks the reproductive capacity of the colony's queen bee and carries out the majority of tasks needed for the functioning of the hive. While worker bees are present in all eusocial bee species, the term is rarely used for bees other than honey bees, particularly the European honey bee. Worker bees of this variety are responsible for approximately 80% of the world's crop pollination services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stingless bee</span> Bee tribe, reduced stingers, strong bites

Stingless bees (SB), sometimes called stingless honey bees or simply meliponines, are a large group of bees (from about 462 to 552 described species), comprising the tribe Meliponini (or subtribe Meliponina according to other authors). They belong in the family Apidae (subfamily Apinae), and are closely related to common honey bees (HB, tribe Apini), orchid bees (tribe Euglossini), and bumblebees (tribe Bombini). These four bee tribes belong to the corbiculate bees monophyletic group. Meliponines have stingers, but they are highly reduced and cannot be used for defense, though these bees exhibit other defensive behaviors and mechanisms. Meliponines are not the only type of bee incapable of stinging: all male bees and many female bees of several other families, such as Andrenidae and Megachilidae (tribe Dioxyini), also cannot sting.

<i>Schwarziana quadripunctata</i> Species of bee

Schwarziana quadripunctata is a small, stingless bee found in a stretch of the South American Amazon from Goiás, Brazil, through Paraguay, to Misiones, Argentina. This highly eusocial insect constructs earthen nests in the subterranean level of the subtropical environment, an unusual feature among other stingless bees. The species ranges in sizes from 6.0 to 7.5 millimetres and feeds on a diverse diet of flowering plants found abundantly on the forest floor, including guacatonga and the mistletoe species Struthanthus concinnus.

<i>Tetragonula carbonaria</i> Species of bee

Tetragonula carbonaria is a stingless bee, endemic to the north-east coast of Australia. Its common name is sugarbag bee. They are also occasionally referred to as bush bees. The bee is known to pollinate orchid species, such as Dendrobium lichenastrum, D. toressae, and D. speciosum. It has been identified as an insect that collects pollen from the cycad Cycas media. They are also known for their small body size, reduced wing venation, and highly developed social structure comparable to honey bees.

<i>Trigona spinipes</i> Species of bee

Trigona spinipes is a species of stingless bee. It occurs in Brazil, where it is called arapuá, aripuá, irapuá, japurá or abelha-cachorro ("dog-bee"). The species name means "spiny feet" in Latin. Trigona spinipes builds its nest on trees, out of mud, resin, wax, and assorted debris, including dung. Therefore, its honey is not fit for consumption, even though it is reputed to be of good quality by itself, and is used in folk medicine. Colonies may have from 5,000 to over 100,000 workers.

<i>Tetragonisca angustula</i> Species of bee

Tetragonisca angustula is a small eusocial stingless bee found in México, Central and South America. It is known by a variety of names in different regions. A subspecies, Tetragonisca angustula fiebrigi, occupies different areas in South America and has a slightly different coloration.

Physogastrism or physogastry is a characteristic of certain arthropods, where the abdomen is greatly enlarged and membranous. The most common examples are the "queens" of certain species of eusocial insects such as termites, bees and ants, in which the abdomen swells in order to hold enlarged ovaries, thus increasing fecundity. This means that the queen has the ability to hold more and produce more eggs at one time. Physogastric queens produce an enormous number of eggs which can account for a significant amount of their body weight. In the termite species Macrotermes subhyalinus, eggs can make up a third of their body weight, and a 15-gram queen can produce up to 30 eggs per minute. The physogastric queens' egg production is supported by oocyte proteins supplied by the "queen body fat."

<i>Plebeia remota</i> Species of bee

Plebeia remota is a species of stingless bee that is in the family Apidae and tribe Meliponini. Bees of the species are normally found in a few states in southern Brazil and their nests can be found in tree cavities. Depending on the region, P. remota may have a different morphology and exhibit different behaviors. The bee's diet consists of nectar and pollen that are collected intensely from a few sources. Researchers have conducted a multitude of studies analyzing the changes that occur in the colony during reproductive diapause and what happens during the provisioning and oviposition process or POP.

<i>Melipona beecheii</i> Species of bee

Melipona beecheii is a species of eusocial stingless bee. It is native to Central America from the Yucatán Peninsula in the north to Costa Rica in the south. M. beecheii was cultivated in the Yucatán Peninsula starting in the pre-Columbian era by the ancient Maya civilization. The Mayan name for M. beecheii is xunan kab, which translates roughly to "regal lady bee". M. beecheii serves as the subject of various Mayan religious ceremonies.

<i>Trigona corvina</i> Species of bee

Trigona corvina is a species of stingless bee that lives primarily in Central and South America. In Panama, they are sometimes known as zagañas. They live in protective nests high in the trees, but they can be extremely aggressive and territorial over their resources. They use their pheromones to protect their food sources and to signal their location to nest mates. This black stingless bees of the tribe Meliponini can be parasitic toward citrus trees but also helpful for crop pollination.

<i>Melipona subnitida</i> Species of bee

Melipona subnitida is a neotropical bee species in the Apidae family found in the dry areas of Northeastern Brazil. This species of stingless bees practices single mating, monogynous habits.

<i>Nannotrigona testaceicornis</i> Species of bee

Nannotrigona testaceicornis is a eusocial stingless bee species of the order Hymenoptera and the genus Nannotrigona. Its local common name is abelhas iraí. This species has a large geographic distribution and occupies different biomes, including urban areas, around Neotropical America. The bees of this species nest in trees or artificial cavities because of this broad distribution. N. testaceicornis is important for agriculture because it will pollinate a vast number of plant species year round.

<i>Scaptotrigona postica</i> Species of bee

Scaptotrigona postica is a species of stingless bee that lives mainly in Brazil. It is a eusocial bee in the tribe Meliponini. S. postica is one of 25 species in the genus Scaptotrigona and is a critical pollinator of the tropical rain forests of Brazil. They construct their nests in hollowed sections of tree trunks, allowing for effective guarding at the nest entrance. This species shows colony structure similar to most members of the Meliponini tribe with three roles within the colony: queen, worker, and male. S. postica individuals have different forms of communication from cuticular hydrocarbons to pheromones and scent trails. Communication is especially useful during worker foraging for nectar and pollen through the Brazilian tropical rain forests. S. postica is a very important pollinator of the Brazilian tropical rain forests and is widely appreciated for its honey. Stingless bees account for approximately 30% of all pollination of the Brazilian Caatinga and Pantanal ecosystems and up to 90% of the pollination for many species of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest and the Amazon.

<i>Paratrigona subnuda</i> Species of bee

Paratrigona subnuda, commonly known as the jataí-da-terra, is a species of eusocial stingless bee in the family Apidae and tribe Meliponini. These social bees are prevalent in Neotropical moist forests, including Brazilian Atlantic and other South American forests. They inhabit spherical nests in moist underground environments with their forest habitats. Within their Neotropical habitats the P. subnuda is considered to be a very successful and common species of bee. P. subnuda’s main source of food is pollen and nectar from a large variety of native Mesoamerican tropical plants. They have been extensively studied due to social conflicts arising from single mate behaviors and particular virgin behaviors. P. subnuda also exhibits the particular daily behavior in which they open the nest entrance at dawn and close the entrance at dusk when all their activities are done.

<i>Melipona quadrifasciata</i> Species of bee

Melipona quadrifasciata is a species of eusocial, stingless bee of the order Hymenoptera. It is native to the southeastern coastal states of Brazil, where it is more commonly known as mandaçaia, which means "beautiful guard," as there is always a bee at the narrow entrance of the nest. M. quadrifasciata constructs mud hives in the hollows of trees to create thin passages that only allow one bee to pass at a time. Because they are stingless bees, M. quadrifasciata is often used as pollinators in greenhouses, outperforming honey bees in efficiency and leading to overall larger yields of fruits that were heavier, larger, and contained more seeds.

<i>Tetragonula hockingsi</i> Species of bee

Tetragonula hockingsi is a small stingless bee native to Australia. It is found primarily in Queensland. The colonies can get quite large, with up to 10,000 workers and a single queen. Workers of Tetragonula hockingsi have been observed in fatal fights with other Tetragonula species, where the worker bees risk their lives for the potential benefit of scarce resources.

<i>Scaptotrigona mexicana</i> Species of bee

Scaptotrigona mexicana is a species of stingless bee that lives throughout Mexico and is part of the Meliponini tribe. This species is sometimes termed "Pisil Nekmej" and is extensively studied for its medicinal purposes. This species is considered common and abundant throughout Mexico and it has been noted to thrive in tropical environments.

<i>Melipona scutellaris</i> Species of bee

Melipona scutellaris is a eusocial stingless bee species of the order Hymenoptera and the genus Melipona. It is considered to be the reared Melipona species with the largest distribution in the North and Northeast regions of Brazil, with records from Rio Grande do Norte down to Bahia. Its common name, Uruçu, comes from the Tupi "eiru su", which in this indigenous language means "big bee". Their honey is highly desirable and the materials they create for nests have been proven to be a promising source of antibiofilm agents and to present selectivity against human cancer cell lines at low concentrations compared to normal cells.

<i>Trigona fuscipennis</i> Species of bee

Trigona fuscipennis is a stingless bee species that originates in Mexico but is also found in Central and South America. They are an advanced eusocial group of bees and play a key role as pollinators in wet rainforests. The species has many common names, including mapaitero, sanharó, abelha-brava, xnuk, k'uris-kab, enreda, corta-cabelo, currunchos, zagaño, and enredapelos.

<i>Lestrimelitta limao</i> Species of bee

Lestrimelitta limao is a neotropical eusocial bee species found in Brazil and Panama and is part of the Apidae family. It is a species of stingless bees that practices obligate nest robbing. They have never been spotted foraging from flowers, an observation that supports their raiding behavior. Because of their lack of hind corbiculae, they must raid to obtain enough protein in their diet in the form of pollen and nectar. Lestrimelitta limao secrete a lemon-scented alarm allomone, from which they receive their name, in order to conduct successful raids. L. limao are hypothesized to produce poisonous honey that is toxic if consumed by humans. Because robber bees are so rare and difficult to observe, there is a limited scope of information available.

References

  1. Lepelletier de St-Fargeau, Amédée (1836). "Mélipona bicolore. — Melipona bicolor". Histoire naturelle des insectes. Hyménoptères. Vol. 1. Paris: Roret. p. 423.
  2. Camargo JMF and Pedro SRM (2008). Meliponini Lepeletier, 1836. In: Catalogue of Bees (Hymenoptera, Apoidea) in the Neotropical Region (Moure JS, Urban D and Melo GAR, eds.). Available at Archived 2018-09-30 at the Wayback Machine . Accessed September 21, 2015.
  3. 1 2 Hilario, S. D.; Imperatriz-Fonseca, V. L.; Kleinert, A. de M. P. (2000). "Flight activity and colony strength in the stingless bee Melipona bicolor bicolor (Apidae, Meliponinae)". Rev. Bras. Biol. 60 (2): 299–306. doi: 10.1590/S0034-71082000000200014 . PMID   10959114.
  4. 1 2 Hilário, S. D.; Imperatriz-Fonseca, V. L. (2009). "Pollen foraging in colonies of Melipona bicolor (Apidae, Meliponini): effects of season, colony size and queen number". Genetics and Molecular Research. 8 (2): 664–671. doi: 10.4238/vol8-2kerr029 . PMID   19554765.
  5. Michener, C D. The bees of the World. Johns Hopkins University Press, 972 pp.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Hayo H.W. Velthuis, Han De Vries, Vera L. Imperatriz-Fonseca. The polygyny of Melipona bicolor: scramble competition among queens. Apidologie, Springer Verlag (Germany), 2006, 37 (2), pp.222-239. <hal-00892206>
  7. 1 2 3 4 Koedam, D.; et al. (2001). "The Behaviour Of Laying Workers And The Morphology And Viability Of Their Eggs In Melipona Bicolor Bicolor". Physiological Entomology. 26 (3): 254–259. doi:10.1046/j.0307-6962.2001.00241.x. S2CID   56197865.
  8. 1 2 Gracioli-Vitti, Luciana F.; Abdalla, Fábio C.; Moraes, Regina L. M. Silva de; Jones, Graeme R. (2004). "The chemical composition of the mandibular gland secretion of Melipona bicolor Lepeletier, 1836 (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Meliponini): a comparative study among castes and sexes". J. Braz. Chem. Soc. 15 (5): 777–781. doi: 10.1590/S0103-50532004000500027 . hdl: 11449/67859 .
  9. 1 2 Nieh, James C.; Contrera, Felipe A.L.; Rangel, Juliana; Imperatriz-Fonseca, Vera L. (2006). "Effects of Food Location and Quality on Recruitment Sounds and Success in Two Stingless Bees, Melipona mandacaia and Melipona bicolor". Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. 55 (1): 87–94. doi:10.1007/s00265-003-0680-6. S2CID   23724319.
  10. Hilário, S.D.; Imperatriz-Fonseca, V.L. (2003). "Thermal Evidence of the Invasion of a Stingless Bee Nest by a Mammal" (PDF). Brazilian Journal of Biology. 63 (3): 457–462. doi: 10.1590/s1519-69842003000300011 . PMID   14758704.
  11. Hilário, S. D.; Imperatriz-Fonseca, V. L. (2009). "Pollen foraging in colonies of Melipona bicolor (Apidae, Meliponini): effects of season, colony size and queen number". Genetics and Molecular Research. 8 (2): 664–671. doi: 10.4238/vol8-2kerr029 . PMID   19554765.
  12. [ALMEIDA-MURADIAN, Ligia Bicudo de; MATSUDA, Adriana Hitomi and BASTOS, Deborah Helena Markowicz. Physicochemical parameters of Amazon Melipona honey. Quím. Nova. 2007, vol.30, n.3 [cited 2015-09-26], pp. 707-708. ISSN 1678-7064. doi : 10.1590/S0100-40422007000300033.