Oxytrigona tataira (Smith) (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Meliponini) as a collector of honeydew from Erechtia carinata (Funkhouser) (Hemiptera: Membracidae) on Caryocar brasiliense Cambessèdes (Malpighiales: Caryocaraceae) in the Brazilian Savanna

Authors

  • Fabrício Hiroiuki Oda Universidade Estadual de Maringá
  • Andressa Figueiredo de Oliveira Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul
  • Camila Aoki Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.13102/sociobiology.v61i4.566-569

Keywords:

Hemipterans, Exudate, Feeding behavior, Pequi, Stingless bee

Abstract

Trophobiont insects are of general interest to behavioral ecology due to the fact that the outcomes of their interactions with hymenopterans can result in strong facultative mutualisms. In this paper we present observations of Oxytrigona tataira (Smith) collecting honeydew from Erechtia carinata (Funkhouser) on Caryocar brasiliense Cambessèdes in a cerrado sensu stricto fragment from Brazilian Savanna. Our observations showed that these bees stimulate E. carinata individuals touching them with the antennas in the gaster to collect honeydew. O. tataira has not been previously recorded collecting honeydew on E. carinata. Thus, we present these observations as a novel bee-treehopper interaction.

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Author Biographies

Andressa Figueiredo de Oliveira, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul

Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul (UFMS), Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde (CCBS), Laboratório de Zoologia, Cidade Universitária, CEP 79070-900. Campo Grande, MS, Brazil. 

Camila Aoki, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul

Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul (UFMS), Campus Aquidauana, Rua Oscar Trindade de Barros s/n, Serraria, CEP 79200-000. Aquidauana, MS, Brazil.

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Published

2014-12-29

How to Cite

Oda, F. H., de Oliveira, A. F., & Aoki, C. (2014). Oxytrigona tataira (Smith) (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Meliponini) as a collector of honeydew from Erechtia carinata (Funkhouser) (Hemiptera: Membracidae) on Caryocar brasiliense Cambessèdes (Malpighiales: Caryocaraceae) in the Brazilian Savanna. Sociobiology, 61(4), 566–569. https://doi.org/10.13102/sociobiology.v61i4.566-569

Issue

Vol. 61 No. 4 (2014)

Section

Short Note

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