Food niche overlap between two stingless bee species along a spatio-temporal gradient: implications for keeping and conservation

• Published in: International journal of tropical insect science Vol. 44; no. 5; pp. 2481 - 2490
• Main Authors: López-Roblero, Estefhanía, Guzmán-Díaz, Miguel Ángel, Grajales-Conesa, Julieta, Sánchez, Daniel
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 22.08.2024
• Subjects: Biomedical and Life Sciences; Entomology; Life Sciences; Original Research Article; Competition; Stingless bees; Melissopalynology; Niche partitioning; Diversity
• ISSN: 1742-7592; 1742-7592
• DOI: 10.1007/s42690-024-01350-1

It is common practice for local stingless beekeepers in Southern Mexico to keep their colonies, comprising two or more species, in a single place, which is referred to as a meliponary. Little is known, however, about whether such a setup promotes competition for local resources among them. This is particularly relevant when several dozens of hives are reared in one meliponary. In this study we examined the plant species visited by two culturally and economically important stingless bee species commonly kept together, Scaptotrigona mexicana and Tetragonisca angustula , to know the magnitude of the competition between them. Honey samples from managed colonies located in three meliponaries were collected over 2018. Using standard melissopalynological techniques we analyzed them and identified the plant species the colonies collected food from. Overall, 84 pollen types were identified: 34 at the species level, 32 at the genus level and 18 at the family level. Samples of both bee species had high indexes of plant diversity; Compositae, Leguminosae and Euphorbiaceae were the most visited plant families. Niche overlap analysis revealed that, at certain times throughout the year, as much as 21% of plant species were shared between both bee species. The results of this study show low competition between S. mexicana and T. angustula . With these results we provide Mexican stingless beekeepers with valuable information that supports the continuation of ancient bee management practices.