Pollen Analysis of the Post-Emergence Residue of Euglossa Bees (Apidae: Euglossini) Nesting in an Urban Fragment

Authors

  • Rafael Sousa Pinto Programa de Pos-Graduaçao em Biodiversidade e Biotecnologia da Amazônia Legal - PPG-BIONORTE
  • Albeane Guimarães Silva Programa de Pos-Graduaçao em Biodiversidade e Biotecnologia da Amazônia Legal - PPG-BIONORTE
  • Márcia Maria Corrêa Rêgo Departamento de Biologia Universidade Federal do Maranhão
  • Patricia Maia Correia de Albuquerque Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biodiversidade e Biotecnologia da Amazônia Legal – PPG-BIONORTE

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.13102/sociobiology.v66i1.3434

Keywords:

nectar, trap nests, Euglossa cordata, Euglossa townsendi, Euglossa securigera

Abstract

Euglossini bees are considered pollinators of a wide variety of plants in the Neotropical region, but little is known about their floral preferences. In this study, we identified the botanical species used as pollen and nectar sources by three Euglossa species (Euglossa cordata, Euglossa townsendi, and Euglossa securigera) using pollen residue found in brood cells from trap nests installed in an urban fragment in São Luís, Maranhão, Brazil. In 14 analyzed Eg. cordata nests, 23 pollen types were observed, in 7 Eg. townsendi nests, 10 pollen types were observed, and in 1 nest of Eg. securigera, 6 morph types were identified. Solanum (Solanaceae), Zanthoxylum (Rutaceae), Mimosa pudica (Fabaceae), and Chamaecrista (Fabaceae) pollen types were common to all three bee species. Principal components analysis showed 83.04% variability on the first two axes, demonstrating substantial similarity among the samples. Solanum, Mimosa pudica, and Zanthoxylum were the principal components in the ranking. Larger diversity values (mean = 0.80) in some samples indicate that the species gathered resources in a heterogeneous manner; this resembles the findings of other studies of Euglossa. In general, the bees exhibited overlapping niches with regard to the most abundant pollens in the nests, but the females showed individual plasticity when gathering the floral resources.

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Author Biography

Patricia Maia Correia de Albuquerque, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biodiversidade e Biotecnologia da Amazônia Legal – PPG-BIONORTE

Department of Biology

Laboratorio de Estudos sobre Abelhas

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Published

2019-04-25

How to Cite

Pinto, R. S., Silva, A. G., Rêgo, M. M. C., & Albuquerque, P. M. C. de. (2019). Pollen Analysis of the Post-Emergence Residue of Euglossa Bees (Apidae: Euglossini) Nesting in an Urban Fragment. Sociobiology, 66(1), 88–96. https://doi.org/10.13102/sociobiology.v66i1.3434

Issue

Vol. 66 No. 1 (2019)

Section

Research Article - Bees

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