Bee-flower association in the Neotropics: implications to bee conservation and plant pollination

Abstract

-There is a growing interest in bee conservation given their importance for the maintenance of biodiversity and food production. However, little is known about most bee species and their associated flora, particularly in the Neotropics. In this study, based on raw data published and own data, we presented the most important plant families for the maintenance of the tribes and functional groups of bees across different Brazilian ecoregions. We also present the close relationship of tribes composed by oligolectic bees and their associated plant families. In addition, we identified the most generalist bees of these ecoregions since they could be important to maintain community stability. specialization / generalization / Atlantic Forest / Caatinga / Cerrado

Pollination services of Africanized honey bees and nativeMelipona beecheiito buzz-pollinated annatto (Bixa orellanaL.) in the neotropics

“…The AHB is the most generalist bee in the Neotropics (Pacheco‐Filho et al ., ); however, the effectiveness of honey bees as pollinators has been questioned with respect to several crops (Westerkamp, ; Macias‐Macias et al ., ; Ollerton et al ., ). Numerically, they can provide good pollination services to plants that do not require specialized pollinators (Pérez‐Balam et al ., ; Romero & Quezada‐Euán, ).…”

Food niche of solitary and social bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) in a Neotropical Savanna

“…Among the eusocial species, T. spinipes showed the broader trophic niche, as expected based on its supergeneralist foraging behavior (Biesmeijer & Slaa, 2006;Giannini et al, 2015;Pacheco-Filho et al, 2015). Its trophic niche breadth in this habitat was influenced both by the richness of plant species visited and by the distribution of the foragers in many floral resources.…”

“…Vizentin-Bugoni et al (2018) pointed out that there is a notable gap in plant-pollinator network studies in Central Neotropical Savanna and that studies should be conducted in these areas of geographical gaps so that the spatial variation in plant-pollinator networks is better understood. The available database on the food plants exploited by bees is best known in the most southern part of the Brazilian savanna (= Cerrado) (19 o to 24 o S) (Pedro & Camargo, 1991;Carvalho & Bego, 1997;Andena et al, 2005;Biesmeijer & Slaa, 2006), however in the northern and middle portions of the Cerrado domain studies are scarce (Martins, 1995;Pacheco-Filho et al, 2015;Souza et al, 2018).…”

Stingless bee (Apidae, Meliponini) guilds occurring in the immediate edges of forest fragments of the Baturité Massif, State of Ceará, Brazil

“…In generic groups, such as Trigona and Scaptotrigona, some species generally present populous colonies that stand out for their ability in food collection and storage procedures. These species therefore have a generalist behavior and are widely distributed in their nesting environments (Roubik 1982, Pacheco Filho et al 2015.…”