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In stingless bee honey (SBH) harvesting, beekeepers often collect honey without accurately assessing its maturation stage, which can impact its physicochemical diversity. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of storage pot condition on SBH maturity by examining honey from open pots (OP) and closed pots (CP). It is commonly assumed that honey in OP is immature and honey in CP is mature. Our physicochemical analyses, including moisture content, soluble solids (°Brix), sugars, and aliphatic organic acids (AOA), tested this hypothesis. The findings revealed that 40 % of SBH samples from OP were mature, challenging the initial assumption. Furthermore, AOA analysis showed that gluconic, acetic, and lactic acids are predominant in SBH, but no direct correlation between AOA concentration and honey maturity was observed. Based on these results, we conclude that OP and CP are not reliable indicators of SBH maturity. This was a preliminary study, providing results that can be further investigated through the validation of the applied methodology and with a larger number of samples. Nevertheless, this study is an important step towards standardizing SBH and assisting producers during the harvest, ultimately optimizing the collection process. To standardize SBH maturity, we recommend using °Brix values, with values above 55 suggesting mature honey with a moisture content below 40 g 100 g⁻¹. Implementing °Brix measurements can improve harvesting practices, enhance honey quality, reduce bee stress, and increase both honey production and market availability. • Mandaçaia honey from open and closed pots (OP; CP) was evaluated. • OP must contain both mature and immature stingless bee honey (SBH). • Mature and immature SBH did not differ in organic acid composition. • A °Brix value above 55 must indicate Mandaçaia honey maturity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sex determination is one of the major developmental events in higher metazoans, where complex molecular mechanisms define two physiologically and behaviorally distinct organisms still genetically compatible. In honey bees, the sex determination cascade is initiated by the allelic composition of complementary sex determiner (csd) gene: males develop from hemi or homozygous embryos, whereas females develop from heterozygous embryos. In females, different alleles of csd lead to the formation of female-specific variants of feminizer (fem) and doublesex (dsx). In males, male-specific variants of fem and dsx are formed by default. In this paper, we investigated the genes of sex determination in the stingless bees Melipona quadrifasciata, Scaptotrigona postica, and Frieseomelitta varia. Our results revealed that the architecture of fem and dsx transcripts is highly conserved among the three stingless bee species, and also with honey bees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study characterized propolis extracts produced by Scaptotrigona bipunctata (Tubuna) and Melipona quadrifasciata (Mandaçaia) by LC–MS/MS; their cytotoxicity as well as the mechanism of action in a melanoma cellular model were also assessed. The chemical characterization performed by UPLC-ESI-QTOF/MS 2 analysis revealed uncommon presence of piperidinic alkaloids in Tubuna’s propolis extract together with C -glycopyranoside flavonoids. Mandaçaia’s propolis collected in the same area rather presented terpenoids and flavonoids. Regarding the mechanism of cytotoxicity, propolis extracts increased the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), reduced the potential of mitochondrial membrane, induced a decrease in the proteins Bcl-2 and AKT-3 levels, and decreased melanoma cells’ migration and invasion. Both propolis extracts induced apoptosis while only Mandaçaia’s propolis extract induced cell cycle arrest in G2/M. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pollen and nectar sources used by Melipona quadrifasciata anthidioides were recorded at Parque Estadual da Serra do Rola‐Moça during one year. Eighty‐nine workers of M. quadrifasciata visited flowers of 16 out of 83 flowering plant species recorded at the site. The flowers visited belonged mainly to a few families, mostly Solanaceae and Myrtaceae. Abundance of bees was not correlated to food availability. From most plant species the workers of M. quadrifasciata gathered either pollen or nectar. Fifty‐five percent of visited plant families overlapped among Parque Estadual da Serra do Rola‐Moça and four other sites in Bahia, São Paulo and Paraná States.ResumoInventariou‐se as espécies de plantas que Melipona quadrifasciata anthidioides utiliza para coleta de pólen e néctar. Oitenta e nove operárias de M. quadrifasciata visitaram 16 (19.3%) das 83 espécies de plantas floridas. Setenta por cento das plantas visitadas foram principalmente espécies de Solanaceae e Myrtaceae. A abundância de abelhas nas flores não se correlacionou com a disponibilidade de recursos. Melipona quadrifasciata coletou somente pólen ou néctar da maioria das plantas que visitou. Houve uma similaridade média de 55% entre o conjunto de espécies de plantas visitadas por M. quadrifasciata no Parque Estadual da Serra do Rola‐Moça e aqueles visitados em locais nos Estados da Bahia, São Paulo e Paraná. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modifications in endocrine programs are common mechanisms that generate alternative phenotypes. In order to understand how such changes may have evolved, we analyzed the pupal ecdysteroid titers in two closely related, highly social bees: the honey bee, Apis mellifera, and a stingless bee, Melipona quadrifasciata. In both species, the ecdysteroid titers in queens reached their peak levels earlier than in workers. Titer levels at peak maxima did not differ for the honey bee castes, but in Melipona they were twofold higher in queens than in workers. During the second half of pupal development, when the ecdysteroid titers decrease and the cuticle progressively melanizes, the titer in honey bee queens remained higher than in workers, while the reverse situation was observed in Melipona. Application of the juvenile hormone analog Pyriproxyfen® to spinning-stage larvae of Melipona induced queen development. Endocrinologically this was manifest in a queen-like profile of the pupal ecdysteroid titer. Comparing these data with previous results on preimaginal hormone titers in another stingless bee, we conclude that the timing and height of the pupal ecdysteroid peak may depend on the nature of the specific stimuli that initially trigger diverging queen/worker development. In contrast, the interspecific differences in the late pupal ecdysteroid titer profiles mainly seem to be related to caste-specific programs in tissue differentiation, including cuticle pigmentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]