Effect of climate seasonality and vegetation cover on floral resource selection by two stingless bee species

Abstract

The response of two stingless bees (Tetragonisca angustula and Melipona eburnea) to changes in vegetation cover was evaluated on seasonal and spatial scales. Seasonal variation was analysed for 15 months, with monthly melitopalinological assessments of hives located in three different vegetation covers: forests, fallows, and grasslands, in the Colombian Central Cordillera. Fallows, with an intermediate disturbance degree, presented the highest pollen taxa richness for both bee species (33 and 40 taxa for M. eburnea and T. angustula, respectively). Both bee species presented a high preference for plant families Melastomataceae, Sapindaceae, and Peraceae. Miconia minutiflora and Mi. prasina (Melastomataceae) were the most selected species, with an alternation in their use between dry and wet seasons. Clethra spp., Pera arborea, and Ilex laureola were also highly selected by both bee species. M. eburnea showed higher pollen richness values during the dry season, when the largest number of plant species flowered. Despite both bee species being polylectic, T. angustula presented higher pollen richness values during wet periods, which was reflected in a greater amplitude of trophic niche compared to M. eburnea. Both bee species showed a higher preference for typical plants in forest environments, enhancing meliponiculture as an economically sustainable practice that can promote forest conservation and the maintenance of stingless forest interactions.