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Pollen in honey of Melipona scutellaris L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in an Atlantic rainforest area in Bahia, Brazil

2015; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 41; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/01916122.2015.1115434

1558-9188

Vanessa Ribeiro Matos, Francisco de Assis Ribeiro dos Santos,

Insect and Pesticide Research

Uruçu (Melipona scutellaris L.) is an example of a native stingless bee typical of northeastern Brazil. It stands out due to its high-quality honey and for being responsible for 40 to 90% of the pollination of native plant species. A total of 37 honey samples were analysed, collected between July 2012 and June 2014 in a meliponary located in the municipality of Entre Rios, in the state of Bahia, Brazil. Honey samples were diluted in distilled water, then in alcohol, and then were acetolysed. Climate information (precipitation and temperature) for the area was obtained during the same period of time. We found 102 pollen types, of which 71 were identified as belonging to 36 plant families. Fabaceae was the most representative family with 15 types, followed by Myrtaceae with seven types. Myrtaceae was highly significant due to the high distribution frequency and dominance of the Eucalyptus type. The Miconia type (Melastomataceae), highly polliniferous, also stood out in our analysis with a high distribution frequency and dominance in some of the sampled months. The precipitation index of the second year of study (August 2013 to June 2014) was much greater than the first year (July 2012 to June 2013), being proportional to the increase of pollen diversity in the same period.