Variation in the ability to communicate three-dimensional resource location by stingless bees from different habitats

We evaluated the ability of two Brazilian stingless bee species, Melipona mandacaia andM. bicolor , to recruit nestmates to a specific three-dimensional location. We used experimental feeder arrays and provide the first detailed evidence demonstrating that recruitment communication in Melipona can lead to large, rapid and highly significant increases in the number of nestmates visiting a specific location. Melipona bicolor andM. mandacaia foragers both recruited nestmates to the correct distance and direction, but differed in their ability to recruit nestmates to the correct height. These differences may relate to their respective habitats. Melipona mandacaia inhabits semi-arid areas of Caatinga where most food sources occur close to the ground, and its foragers evidently cannot recruit nestmates to the correct height. Melipona bicolor, an Atlantic rainforest species, evidently does not communicate height when the food source is at ground level, but can communicate height when the food source is at the forest canopy level (12 m high), where major food sources occur. Species-specific variation in three-dimensional location communication is intriguing because it suggests that Melipona may be a good model for studying the evolution of recruitment communication systems in highly social bees.