Amazonian Stingless Bees Protect Meliponaries Against Robber Bees [abelhas-sem-ferrão Amazônicas Defendem Meliponários Contra Saques De Outras Abelhas]

Among eusocial bees, two genera evolved a cleptobiotic life strategy, stealing food resources from other bee nest instead of collecting it from flowers. Under natural conditions there is a gradient of strategies against robbing, from more susceptible to highly resistant species. In this work, we describe one attack of the robber bee Lestrimelitta rufipes to a nest of Scaptotrigona sp. in the Amazon Rain Forest (Amazonas, Brazil). The attacked nest was introduced in a beekeeping area with bees already known to be resistant to cleptobiosis. The resident bees (Duckeola ghilianii and Melipona fulva) counter-attacked the robber bees and successfully protect the Scaptotrigona sp. nest. The presence of the defensive behaviour in unrelated genera suggests it evolved many times in social bees. Based on the protective behaviour described here, we suggest that in order to reduce the damage caused by Lestrimelitta attacks in Amazonian beekeeping, a combination of defensive and non-resistant bees should be considered.433389394Bego, L.R., Zucchi, R., Mateus, S., Notas sobre a estratégia alimentar (cleptobiose) de Lestrimelitta limao Smith (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Meliponinae) (1991) Naturalia, 16, pp. 119-127Blum, M.S., Crewe, R.M., Kerr, W.E., Keith, L.E., Garrison, A.W.E., Walker, M.M., Citral in stingless bees: Isolation and functions in trail-laying and robbing (1970) Journal of Insect Physiology, 16, pp. 1637-1648Francke, W., Lubke, G., Schoder, W., Reckziegel, A., ImperatrizFonseca, V., Kleinert, A., Engels, E., Engels, W., Identification of oxygen containing volatiles in cephalic secretions of workers of Brazilian stingless bees (2000) Brazilian Journal of Chemistry Society, 11 (6), pp. 562-571Freeman, S., Herron, J.C., (2009) Análise Evolutiva., p. 848. , 4a. edição, editora ArtmedGrüter, C., Menezes, C., Imperatriz-Fonseca, V.L., Ratnieks, F.L.W., A morphologically specialized soldier caste improves colony defense in a neotropical eusocial bee (2012) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 109 (4), pp. 1182-1186Michener, C.D., (1974) The social behavior of the bees: A comparative study., pp. 9+404. , Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USANogueira-Neto, P., (1997) Vida e criação de abelhas indígenas sem ferrão., p. 446. , Nogueirapis, São PauloPompeu, M.S., Silveira, F.A., Reaction of Melipona rufiventris Lepeletier to citral and against an attack by the cleptobiotic bee Lestrimelitta limao (Smith) (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Meliponina) (2005) Brazilian Journal of Biology, 65 (1), pp. 189-191Roubik, D.W., (1989) Ecology and natural history of tropical bees., p. 516. , Cambridge University Press, New York, USASakagami, S.F.E., Laroca, S., Additional observations on the habits of the cleptobiotic stingless bees, the genus Lestrimelitta Friese (Hymenoptera, Apoidea) (1963) Journal of the Faculty of Science, 15, pp. 319-339Sakagami, S.F., Roubik, D.W.E., Zucchi, R., Ethology of the robber stingless bee, Lestrimelitta limao (Hymenoptera, Apidae) (1993) Sociobiology, 21, pp. 237-277Santana, W.C., Freitas, G.S., Akatsu, I.P., Espencer, A.S.E., (2004) Abelha Iratim (Lestrimelitta limao Smith: Apidae, Meliponinae), realmente é danosa às populações de abelhas?, p. 78. , Necessita ser eliminada? Mensagem DoceWittmann, D., Radtke, R., Zeil, J., Lubke, G., Francke, W., Robber bees (Lestrimelitta limao) and their host chemical and visual cues in nest defense by Trigona (Tetragonisca) angustula (Apidae: Meliponinae) (1990) Journal of Chemical Ecology, 16 (2), pp. 631-64