ABSTRACT. Neotropical Meliponini: the genus Partamona Schwarz, 1939 (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Apinae) -bionomy and biogeography. This work, dedicated to the study of nesting habits of the species of the Neotropical genus Partamona Schwarz, is a sequence to the taxonomic revision recently published elsewhere. A total of 214 nests and nest aggregations of 18 species [Partamona epiphytophila

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2008A molecular phylogeny and the evolution of nest architecture and behavior in Trigona s.s.(Hymenoptera : Apidae : Meliponini) APIDOLOGIE, v.39, n Abstract -Stingless bees exhibit extraordinary variation in nest architecture within and among species.To test for phylogenetic association of behavioral traits for species of the Neotropical stingless bee genus Trigona s.s., a phylogenetic hypothesis was generated by combining sequence data of 24 taxa from one mitochondrial (16S rRNA) and four nuclear gene fragments (long-wavelength rhodopsin copy 1 (opsin), elongation factor-1α copy F2, arginine kinase, and 28S rRNA). Fifteen characteristics of the nest architecture were coded and tested for phylogenetic association. Several characters have significant phylogenetic signal, including type of nesting substrate, nest construction material, and hemipterophily, the tending of hemipteroid insects in exchange for sugar excretions. Phylogenetic independent habits encountered in Trigona s.s. include coprophily and necrophagy. molecular phylogeny / neotropical / stingless bee / behavior / nest