Palynoflora exploited by Frieseomelitta longipes (Smith, 1854) (Apinae: Meliponini) in protected areas from the Brazilian Amazon basin

Abstract

Using melissopalynology, we aimed to identify the plant species used by Frieseomelitta longipes (Smith, 1854) in the Tapajós–Arapiuns Extractive Reserve, a protected area in the Brazilian Amazon Basin. Honey samples were collected from F. longipes colonies in the Anã and Solimões communities for one year. The honey was acetolyzed and microscopically evaluated. Overall, we identified 184 pollen types distributed in 38 families, with 14 undetermined pollen types. Of this total, we found 104 exclusive pollen types in the Anã community honey, 58 exclusive pollen types in the Solimões community honey and 22 pollen types in honey from both areas. The most representative pollen types were: Caesalpinia peltophoroides, Cecropia, Delonix regia, Eugenia stipitata, Mimosa guilhardini, Psidium guajava, Spondias mombin, and Tapirira guianensis. The diversity (H') of pollen types was higher throughout the year in the Anã community, peaking in Feb/2017 (H' = 2.81), compared to Solimões honeys in Apr/2017 (H' = 2.61). The pollen spectrum of Anã samples revealed greater uniformity (J') for F. longipes, also peaking in Jan/2017 (J' = 0.97). On the other hand, we found the lowest J' values in the Solimões community samples, especially in Sep/2017 (J' = 0.76). In the Anã community, F. longipes expanded and diversified its collection of resources, revealing an extensive pollen niche and a more homogeneous collection pattern compared to the Solimões community.

Keywords:

• Amazonia
• bee pasture
• meliponiculture
• palynology
• melliferous plants
• native bees
• trophic resources
• Brazil

Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. M. L. Absy and her research group at the Palynology Laboratory of the National Institute of Amazonian Research (INPA, Brazil). We thank the meliponiculturists and the riverside communities of Tapajós–Arapiuns Resex who agreed to participate in this study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES, Brazil), which granted the master's scholarship to the first author; and by the Programa de Pós-graduação em Ciências e Tecnologias Ambientais (PPGCTA–UFSB/IFBA, Brazil), which covered editing costs.