Subtle visits despite guards: Theft from nest of stingless bee (Meliponini) by orchid bee (Euglossini) |
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Authors: | Charles Fernando dos SANTOS Samuel BOFF |
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Affiliation: | Universidade de São Paulo, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil |
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Abstract: | The theft of food items and building materials from nests of stingless bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Meliponini) is most commonly carried out by other Meliponini bee species, especially by those related to genus Lestrimelitta Friese, 1903. In this note, we recorded the theft of cerumen and propolis made by a species of the orchid bee, Euglossa annectans Dressler, 1982 (Apidae: Euglossini) from the nest of the stingless bee Tetragonisca angustula (Latreille, 1811). We noticed that the guard workers of T. angustula did not attack the thief bee even though it did not come sufficiently close to the entrance tube of the nest. |
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Keywords: | defense intruders nest usurpation social bees solitary bees |
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