Can the shape of the wing help in the identification of African stingless bee species? (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Meliponini)

Stingless bees are important pollinators of wild and cultivated plants, and they produce medicinal honey. However, their taxonomy and systematics are still debated and would benefit a continent-wide revision. Here, we explore the potential of wing shape in delineation and classification of Afrotropi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of tropical insect science 2023-01, Vol.43 (2), p.749-759
Main Authors: Ndungu Nelly, Vereecken, Nicolas J, Maxence, Gerard, Kariuki Sophia, Kati Lape Kati, Youbissi Annie, Nassong Sabine, Hundt Baerbel, Jaramillo, Juliana, Kiatoko, Nkoba
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bees
Classification
Cultivated plants
Genera
Hominids
Medicinal plants
Meliponini
Meliponula
Morphometry
Pollinators
Predation
Species
Systematics
Taxonomic revision
Taxonomy
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Summary:Stingless bees are important pollinators of wild and cultivated plants, and they produce medicinal honey. However, their taxonomy and systematics are still debated and would benefit a continent-wide revision. Here, we explore the potential of wing shape in delineation and classification of Afrotropical Meliponini using geometric morphometrics. We sampled 749 specimens from nine countries of sub-Saharan Africa, belonging to the genera Meliponula (n = 8), Dactylurina (n = 2) and Plebeina (n = 1). Specimens collected from Kenya were used as standards to assess similar species collected from other eight African countries. Eleven landmarks were plotted on the right forewing of each specimen to conduct multivariate analyses and group/specimen classification. Our results show that seven out of eleven African stingless bee species were reliably discriminated using wing shape, however, there was overlap in the remaining four species, namely Meliponula cameroonensis, Meliponula ferruginea, Meliponula togoensis and Meliponula erythra. In conclusion geometric morphometrics represent a promising taxonomic tool that can be applied to identify African stingless bee species.
ISSN:1742-7584
1742-7592
DOI:10.1007/s42690-023-00980-1