Integrative approach untangles the misconceptions about the range and identity of two stingless bees from the Brazilian semiarid region

Abstract

Several species and morphotypes of Melipona are popularly known as “mandaçaia”, even though they show distinctive patterns of tergal stripes among other peculiar features. In particular, Melipona mandacaia is often referred to as isolated populations of Melipona quadrifasciata with continuous tergal stripes from Northeastern Brazil, thus leading to biased estimates of their natural range and improper management of both species in meliponiculture. In order to put an end to this debate, we analyzed the genetic and ecological divergence among populations of these stingless bees in Brazilian semiarid region, sampled over six Brazilian states. Both approaches were congruent since they revealed a clear differentiation between M. quadrifasciata with continuous stripes and M. mandacaia, recovering each one as unique evolutionary units (highly-supported reciprocal monophyletic clades separated by 11 mutations and 1.8% of genetic divergence) without niche overlapping. These data highlight the importance of independent management for each group, particularly because M. mandacaia is one of the most commercially exploited bee species in traditional agriculture along northeastern Brazil. Moreover, the latter should be monitored in relation to their population viability since natural areas in Brazilian semiarid region have been increasingly deforested over the last decades.