A Comparison of Social Bee-Plant Networks between Two Urban Areas.

In the last decade, several studies demonstrated the effectiveness of ecological network analysis to a better understanding of the structure bee-plant interaction networks; however, such approaches involving urban areas are still scarce. Here, we analyzed two assemblages of corbiculate bees (Apoidea, Apidae) in two geographically distinct urban areas in Brazil. In both study areas, apid bees visiting flowers were captured with an insect net.

Bee communities (Hymenoptera: Anthophila) of the "Cerrado" ecosystem in São Paulo State, Brazil.

Five surveys of the bee communities in four "Cerrado" ecosystem reserves in São Paulo State were compared for species richness and similarity. These areas are fragment vegetation reser-ves located in the Cerrado Corumbataí Reserve (Corumbataí), Jataí Ecological Park (Luiz Antônio), Cajuru (Cajuru), and Vassununga State Park - "Gleba de Cerrado de Pé-de-Gigante" (Santa Rita do Passa Quatro). The methodology consisted of capturing bees foraging on flowers along transects, though with small differences between surveys.

Pollination of tomatoes by the stingless bee Melipona quadrifasciata and the honey bee Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera, Apidae).

The pollination effectiveness of the stingless bee Melipona quadrifasciata and the honey bee Apis mellifera was tested in tomato plots. The experiment was conducted in four greenhouses as well as in an external open plot in Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil. The tomato plants were exposed to visits by M.

Intrinsic colony conditions affect the provisioning and oviposition process in the stingless bee Melipona scutellaris.

The cell provisioning and oviposition process (POP) is a unique characteristic of stingless bees (Meliponini), in which coordinated interactions between workers and queen regulate the filling of brood cells with larval resources and subsequent egg laying. Environmental conditions seem to regulate reproduction in stingless bees; however, little is known about how the amount of food affects quantitative sequences of the process. We examined intrinsic variables by comparing three colonies in distinct conditions (strong, intermediate and weak state).

Differences between the quality of strawberries (Fragaria x ananassa) pollinated by the stingless bees Scaptotrigona aff. depilis and Nannotrigona testaceicornis.

We investigated the success of two stingless bee species in pollinating strawberries in greenhouses. Three greenhouses and one open field area were used; one greenhouse had only strawberry plants (control), another (G1) had three colonies of Scaptotrigona aff. depilis and another (G2) had three colonies of Nannotrigona testaceicornis.