The stingless bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Meliponini): a review of the current threats to their survival

Toledo-Hernández, Erubiel; Peña-Chora, Guadalupe; Hernández-Velázquez, Víctor Manuel; Lormendez, Caleb C.; Toribio-Jiménez, Jeiry; Romero‐Ramírez, Yanet; León‐Rodríguez, Renato

doi:10.1007/s13592-022-00913-w

Cited by 44 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 143 publications

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“…Stingless bee colonies in Brazil experience various different mechanisms of loss (Freitas et al, 2009;Dias de Freitas et al, 2022). The increasing popularity of many of the hundreds of species of social stingless bees found in subtropical and subtropical regions of the world and the resulting intensive management of the colonies, both for pollination and for producing honey, has resulted in new disease and pest problems that require study (Menezes et al, 2009;Toledo-Hernańdez et al, 2022). In addition, pesticides sometimes affect solitary or non-Apis bees to a greater extent than honey bees.…”

Section: Protection and Health Of Other Bee Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The global challenge of improving bee protection and health

Jong

Lester²

2023

Front. Bee Sci.

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Agriculture is heavily reliant on insects for food production. In fact, at least a third of all crops rely on pollination (Klein et al., 2007). Paradoxically, as agriculture becomes more intensive and the need for pollinators increases, modern agricultural practices also reduce bee populations through application of pesticides and intensive land use (Klein et al., 2007;Aizen and Harder, 2009;Gallai et al., 2009). This increased demand and concurrent declining bee health have led to a 'pollination crisis' (Holden, 2006;Goulson et al., 2015). Bee diseases and pests have become a major limiting factor in the effort to provide the large numbers of strong honey bee colonies that are now required, greatly increasing costs for beekeepers and hive rental fees for farmers (Genersch, 2010;Traynor et al., 2020).Besides honey bees, there are over 20,000 other bee species (Engel et al., 2020). The non-Apis bees are often wonderfully diverse in form and function, worthy of conservation and preservation in their own right. For example, the re-discovery of Wallace's Giant Bee, Megachile pluto, or the Dodo of the bee world, provides new challenges for conservation (Vereecken, 2018). The contribution of many non-Apis bees to pollination is substantial, though often much less appreciated. Additionally, the interaction of other bee species and honey bees can have synergistic benefits for pollination services, resulting in higher fruit-set and productivity (Brittain et al., 2013).In this article we briefly review the major stressors and health issues for bees. Improving the protection and health of honey bees, and the many thousands of other bee species, is a major global challenge and is the goal for this journal section. Major stressors and mortality factors for honey beesWestern honey bee colony losses vary widely year-to-year, but are generally becoming worse. Annual honey bee colony loss surveys show considerable variation in temporal and spatial rates of colony loss as well as in the contributing factors. Varroa destructor mites and the viruses these parasites spread are now considered the greatest contributor to these losses, though queen problems, a lack of natural food sources, and new pests also play substantial roles (Brown et al., 2016;Stahlmann-Brown et al., 2022).Modern agriculture and human transformation of much of the landscape have greatly impacted both honey bees and the numerous species of solitary and social bees around the globe. A "web of stressors can act indirectly, in association, or synergistically", negatively affecting bee health (Goulson et al., 2015;Steinhauer et al., 2018). These stressors vary around the globe, changing over time, which was highlighted in a recent study that demonstrated both a dramatic decline in honey bee lifespan and an associated decline in the average amount of honey production per colony each year over the last five decades in the USA Frontiers in Bee Science frontiersin.org 01

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Section: Protection and Health Of Other Bee Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The global challenge of improving bee protection and health

Jong

Lester²

2023

Front. Bee Sci.

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“…Despite their importance, bees and many other pollinators face numerous threats, including habitat loss due to deforestation, wildfires, changes in land use, excessive use of pesticides, and climate change, which are causing alarming population declines that will have severe consequences for the ecosystems and global human diet, health, and economies [ 2 , 3 , 12 , 13 ]. For these reasons, efficient and long-term strategies for conservation of stingless bees (and other pollinators) is a pressing matter [ 14 , 15 ]. Furthermore, there is a huge knowledge gap on these bees, since only about 6% of scientific publications deal with stingless bees compared to other eusocial bees such as honeybees and bumble bees [ 9 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stingless bees: uses and management by meliponiculturist women in the Chaco region of Bolivia

Adler

Escóbar-Márquez

Solis-Soto

et al. 2023

J Ethnobiology Ethnomedicine

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Background Stingless bees have a great value as main pollinators of wild flowering and cultivated plants, thus playing a fundamental role in the maintenance of biodiversity and food security in Latin America. Despite their importance, stingless bees face numerous threats causing alarming population declines. Moreover, stingless bees have a great cultural and traditional value, since most products from the hive are used for a wide variety of purposes. A growing number of initiatives are encouraging the breeding of these bees, through training courses and modern management techniques. This study documents the knowledge on stingless bees and their products that meliponiculturists from the Chaco region of Bolivia have, as well as the influence that meliponiculture initiatives have on the management and general knowledge of the bees. Methods Local richness and diversity of stingless bees was calculated using Hill numbers. Structured interviews were conducted with 59 meliponiculturists in order to characterize traditional and formal knowledge on stingless bees and meliponiculture. Generalized linear models were applied to assess the influence of training courses on the management of the bees. Also, a relative cultural importance index was calculated for each species. Results Twelve Meliponini species were identified, and 15 local names were reported with morphological, defensiveness behavior, and nest description. There was no significant difference in the knowledge between different ethnical backgrounds or ages. A significant difference was observed in the use of supplementary feeding and assisted division, but none in the success in racking hives or in pest management, regarding the number or courses taken. The relative cultural importance index recorded 30 specific uses for bee products grouped in four categories, from which 29 were attributed (but not exclusively) to Tetragonisca angustula, making it the most versatile species. Conclusions The products of the hive, especially honey, are used for a wide variety of purposes, mostly in medicine. These uses are mostly attributed to just one species, T. angustula, in coincidence with what was taught in meliponiculture training courses by NGOs. The influence of formal knowledge is mostly positive, but it is recommended that other meliponini species are taken into account as well.

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“…The arrival of European conquistadors during the sixteenth century marked the beginning of the decline of meliponiculture driven by (i) the introduction and promotion of apiculture, which progressively replaced stingless beekeeping as it produces comparatively more honey, and (ii) the increasingly widespread cultivation of sugarcane ( Saccharum officinarum ), which rapidly provided yet another important source of sweetener 9 – 12 . The apparent decline of stingless bee populations is also likely to have been reinforced by contemporary anthropogenic environmental change, including habitat loss and deforestation particularly important in the Neotropics 13 , climate and land use change, and the introduction of exotic species 14 . By contrast, beekeeping with A. mellifera in Mesoamerica has grown significantly; Mexico is currently the 6th largest honey producing country in the world 15 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Honey compositional convergence and the parallel domestication of social bees

Noiset

Cabirol

Rojas-Oropeza

et al. 2022

Sci Rep

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Honey collection evolved from simple honey hunting to the parallel and independent domestication of different species of bees in various parts of the world. In this study, we investigate the extent to which the composition of Apis and stingless bee honeys has been a driver in the selection of different bee species for domestication in Mesoamerica (Mexico) and Asia (Thailand) using a sampling design that combines peak honey profiling by H1 NMR spectroscopy with the collection of honeys from domesticated and undomesticated bee species. Our results show that, independently of the region of the world considered, domesticated stingless bees produce honey whose compositional profiles differ from those of the non-domesticated species and exhibit more similarities towards honeys produced by the domesticated Apis species. Our results provide evidence for the first time that the search for natural sweeteners in the environment by our ancestors led to the parallel and independent domestication of social bees producing honeys with similar compositional profiles.

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The stingless bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Meliponini): a review of the current threats to their survival

Cited by 44 publications

References 143 publications

The global challenge of improving bee protection and health

The global challenge of improving bee protection and health

Stingless bees: uses and management by meliponiculturist women in the Chaco region of Bolivia

Honey compositional convergence and the parallel domestication of social bees

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