Nest Architecture of Tetragona clavipes (Fabricius) (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Meliponini)

Sociobiology

Raoni Duarte¹  Jairo Souza¹  Ademilson Espencer Egea Soares¹ 

[1] Universidade de São Paulo

关键词: Beehives;    native bees;    nesting behavior;    storage pots.;   

DOI  :  

来源: Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana, Brazil

【 摘 要 】

The aim of this study was to describe the nest architecture ofTetragona clavipescolonies, and to compare its features with other stingless bee species. The measurements were made on 10 colonies in terms of brood chamber, brood cells, royal cells, food pots, pillars between combs, and population. Brood chamber (= 3117.9 ± 1230.6 cm 3 ) of spiral-shaped combs were all in the center of the nest. The values of equatorial diameter of brood chambers (= 14.33 ± 3.03 cm) can be useful to scale bee boxes. The height and width of food pots ( =3.42 ± 0.39 cm;=2.21 ± 0.23 cm), and brood cells ( =6.37 ± 0.32 mm;=3.73 ± 0.35 mm) were statistically different among colonies. The measurements of the internal nest structures ofT. clavipeswere similar to the few other reported studies of this species.T. clavipesnests presented only few differences from other stingless bee species. This species has large potential for honey production, which has not yet been explored and deserves attention in future studies.

【 授权许可】

Unknown