TROPHIC RESOURCES COLLECTED BY Melipona grandis Guérin, 1844 (APIDAE: MELIPONINA) IN RURAL AREA OF RIO BRANCO, ACRE – BRAZIL

Melipona grandis has a wide geographic distribution in Latin America. Moreover, it is a species used in honey production by native meliponicultors of Acre. This study aimed to identify plants visited by M. grandis and indicate the degree of specialization of this bee in the collection of trophic resources, being conducted between November 2016 and October 2017. Altogether, 26 samplings were performed. The most common pollen types were: Solanum type (Solanaceae); Cassia mimosoides (Fabaceae/Caesalpinioideae); Mimosa caesalpiniifolia; Mimosa pudica (Fabaceae/Mimosoideae) and Miconia type (Melastomataceae). The months with greatest wealth of pollen types were: July, May and August. Arboreal and shrubby plants were the main resource suppliers for M. grandis, being 48.78 % (arboreal) and 34.15 % (shrubby). The degree of specialization of this bee is clearly associated with the abundance of resources throughout the year, Levins Index (B) for trophic niche amplitude 6.975, Standardized Index (Bsta) 0.314, characterizing M. grandis as polyletic