Pollen of honey from Melipona seminigra merrillae Cockerell, 1919, Scaptotrigona nigrohirta Moure, 1968 and Scaptotrigona sp. Moure, 1942 (Apidae: Meliponini) reared in Sataré Mawé indigenous communities, Amazon, Brazil

Abstract

Honey samples from stingless bees (tribe Meliponini) were analyzed in three Sataré Mawé indigenous communities located along the edges of the Maruá River in the state of Amazonas, Brazil. Twenty-nine pollen types were identified for the Scaptotrigona nigrohirta colonies from the Ilha Michilis community, 43 for the Scaptotrigona sp. colonies and 39 for the Melipona seminigra colonies from the Nova Esperança community, and 34 for the M. seminigra colonies from the Monte Horeb community. Regarding the presence or absence of different pollen types in the samples, from the 65 pollen types identified, five were exclusive for the Scaptotrigona sp. from Nova Esperança, five for M. seminigra from Monte Horeb, six for S. nigrohirta from Ilha Michilis, and 13 for M. seminigra from Nova Esperança. Of the main pollen types identified (n = 22), the Miconia type had the highest proportion and was the only type shared by the bees from the three communities. The present study provides a list of important plants to be included in bee pastures for the studied bees in the Amazon, with the aim of developing stingless beekeeping as a subsistence activity in indigenous communities. © 2018, © 2018 AASP – The Palynological Society.