Foraging distance of Melipona subnitida Ducke (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

The current study aimed at estimating the maximum foraging distance of the stingless bee Melipona subnitida Ducke by comparing the efficacy of two methods: training of workers with an artificial feeding source and the capture-recapture technique, which consisted at marking bees that were released at...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sociobiology (Chico, CA) CA), 2014-12, Vol.61 (4), p.494-501
Main Authors: Silva, Albeane Guimarães, Pinto, Rafael Sousa, Contrera, Felipe Andres Leon, Albuquerque, Patricia Maia Correia, Rêgo, Márcia Maria Corrêa
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Apidae
Artificial feeding
Capture-recapture
Distance
Foragers
Hymenoptera
Melipona
Meliponini
Stingless bees
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The current study aimed at estimating the maximum foraging distance of the stingless bee Melipona subnitida Ducke by comparing the efficacy of two methods: training of workers with an artificial feeding source and the capture-recapture technique, which consisted at marking bees that were released at different distances from the nest, after which the number of bees that returned to the colony was recorded. Under the training method, the mean foraging distance of the three colonies studied was 1,120 m and maximum foraging distance of 1,160 m. Yet the number of recruits and reactivated foragers for each colony were quantified, the average maximum distance until recruitment occurred was 886,66 m. In the capture-recapture method, the maximum flight distance of captured foragers ranged from 3,600 to 4,000 m, which was 2,700 m farther than the maximum flight distance recorded using the artificial feeding method. Therefore, we verified that M. subnitida is a species that can travel long distances in search for food. Our results also suggest that an abundance of resources near the nest can reduce its foraging area.
ISSN:0361-6525
2447-8067
DOI:10.13102/sociobiology.v61i4.494-501