Abstract
The use of Meliponini for crop pollination in protected environments is practically non-existent. One of the reasons is the difficulty of acclimatizing Meliponini to the temperature and light conditions inside greenhouses. We investigated how covering materials used in greenhouses, which filter different intensities of ultraviolet (UV) light, affect the foraging behaviors, flight orientation, attraction to walls and ceilings, and mortality of Scaptotrigona cf. postica (Letreille), Frieseomelitta varia (Lepeletier), and Melipona quadrifasciata (Lepeletier). The experiments were conducted in 5.3 m3 arenas covered with four types of plastic films that do not polarize sunlight, with UV transmittance levels ranging from 0.1 to 54%, compared to a transparent glass control. The temperature inside the arenas varied between treatments, from 27 ± 3°C to 31 ± 2°C. All three species collected resources and returned to the colony, regardless of the covering material. However, the proportion of this behavior, the number of bees attracted to the ceiling and wall, and mortality varied among treatments and/or throughout the confinement days for each species. Melipona quadrifasciata and F. varia acclimatized better to the confined environments than S. cf. postica and showed consistent resource collection behavior throughout the confinement days in all tested materials, except for the one that filtered around 90% of UV. In all three species, the mortality gradually decreased throughout the confinement days. The results indicate that the choice of covering material, considering its optical characteristics, can be crucial to ensure greater effectiveness of the pollination services provided by stingless bees in protected systems.
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Data Availability
The original data from behavioral experiments and data used in the analyses are available in the supplementary materials. The original data for spectral transmittance measurements in the ultraviolet–visible (UV–VIS) range for the 19 commercial plastic films and transparent glass (4 mm) will be provided on request.
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Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the Embrapa technicians Alex Cortês and Lucas Machado and the undergraduate students who helped conduct the experiments: Gabriel Borges, Luan Souza, Rafaela Assunção, and Rafaela Brandão. We would also like to thank Fabiana Vasconcelos for drawing up Figure 1.
Funding
This study is part of a larger research project (Embrapa SEG 20.18.00.053.00.00) coordinated by Carmen S. S. Pires. This project was supported by the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq—400555/2018–2, 440226/2021–0); Fundação De Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (2013/07276–1); Fundação de Apoio à Pesquisa do Distrito Federal (FAP-DF—00193.0000054/2019–37); Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais Renováveis (IBAMA) and Associação Brasileira de Estudos das Abelhas (ABELHA).
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CSSP, EMGF and ERS conceptualised the study; CSSP, ERS and RAL were responsible for the experimental design. LCLB measured the spectral characteristics of cover materials and RC contributed in the conduction of behavioural experiments; DLR and RC compiled data; CSSP, DLR, ERS, RAL and TM analyzed data. CSSP and DLR wrote the first version of the manuscript; EMGF, RAL and TM discussed ideas and revised subsequent versions of the manuscript. CM and ERS provided insightful comments on final version of this paper. All authors revised and approved the final version of the manuscript.
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The authors have no financial or proprietary interests in any material discussed in this article. EMGF, RAL, and CSSP are editors of Neotropical Entomology, but another editor independently handled the manuscript. The other authors have no competing interests to declare that are relevant to the content of this article.
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de Lacerda Ramos, D., Borduchi, L.C.L., Costa, R. et al. Acclimatization and Foraging of Native Brazilian Stingless Bees in Arenas with Covering Materials of Different Spectral Properties. Neotrop Entomol 53, 499–513 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13744-024-01140-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13744-024-01140-x