Search

Las abejas sin aguijón son importantes para los ecosistemas por su papel ecológico como polinizadores. En Nicaragua se sabe poco acerca de su diversidad. En este trabajo, se realizó el primer inventario de abejas sin aguijón en el corredor biológico Paso del Istmo de Rivas, Nicaragua, en los municipios de Cárdenas, San Juan del Sur y Rivas. Se realizaron 31 muestreos dirigidos en plantas en floración en los tres municipios en diferentes agroecosistemas. La colecta se hizo con la técnica de red entomológica principalmente en plantas en floración visitadas por las abejas. Se hizo búsqueda de material bibliográfico que demuestren registros de abejas sin aguijón, actualizando de esta manera las especies reportadas en Nicaragua. En total, se colectaron 109 ejemplares correspondiendo a 11 géneros y 21 especies. Predominan los géneros Plebeia Schwarz, 1938, Scaptotrigona Moure, 1942, Partamona Schwarz, 1939 y Trigona Jurine, 1807. Además, se reportan las especies Nannotrigona perilampoides (Cresson, 1878), Partamona bilineata (Say, 1837), Plebeia moureana Ayala, 1999, Scaura argyrea (Cockerell, 1912), Trigona nigerrima Cresson, 1878, Trigona muzoensis Schwarz, 1948 como nuevos registros para el país, incrementando a 35 especies de abejas sin aguijón registradas en Nicaragua.

Los abejorros sociales del género Bombus son componentes muy importantes de la biodiversidad de México. Son polinizadores de una gran variedad de plantas, muchas de ellas cultivos de gran importancia comercial como los jitomates y los chiles y son componentes fundamentales de los ecosistemas donde habitan. Muchas especies están amenazadas por el crecimiento urbano, el cambio climático y el desarrollo de la agricultura a escala industrial aunque, paradójicamente, algunas especies son indispensables en la agricultura protegida. En este libro se reúne el conocimiento actual sobre las 22 especies nativas de abejorros mexicanos que se reconocen formalmente y sobre una especie introducida, precisamente asociada con la agricultura industrial. Aunque no se puede considerar como una obra definitiva sobre los abejorros mexicanos, es una primera propuesta encaminada a condensar aspectos generales de la biología y la conservación de los abejorros mexicanos, en combinación con un tratamiento taxonómico preciso y detallado, pero accesible a cualquier lector interesado, incluyendo también a los especialistas. Esta obra fue elaborada por un equipo de biólogos conocedores de los abejorros mexicanos y está ricamente ilustrada, con mapas originales de distribución de las especies y con imágenes artísticas magistralmente logradas por dos de los autores. Para todas las especies se presentan ilustraciones científicas por primera vez, lo que hace de este Atlas una obra magnífica y digna de conocer y coleccionar.

Because cities concentrate 50% of the world’s population, and are experiencing a re-emergence of urban agriculture, we investigated the influences of urban agriculture and surrounding natural areas on floral visitors (bees, wasps, butterflies and flies) and plant species in San Cristobal de Las Casas, Mexico. Throughout the frost, dry and rainy seasons of 2015, we sampled floral visitors in nine urban gardens and nine natural areas. We found 210 floral visitor species: 78% pollinators, 18% predators, and 4% florivores. Rarefaction curves showed that natural areas harbor significantly more floral visitor species (148) than home gardens (132). However, the differences in species composition between habitats and seasons highlight the need to view natural areas and home gardens as complementary habitats with which floral visitors interact in varying ways, during successive seasons, to meet different needs. Furthermore, mean species richness of floral visitors was influenced mainly by seasonality, and increased as seasons progressed from the dry, frost season to the rainy season. Nonetheless, some taxa were influenced by both season and habitat type. Floral visitor abundance was influenced by both habitat type and season, with home gardens showing higher abundance across seasons. Moreover, interaction networks for each season were more asymmetric in natural areas than in home gardens. Urban cover in the surrounding landscape influenced in a quadratic way the species number of floral visitors, but not their abundance. Thus, our results are evidence that natural areas surrounding cities and urban agriculture contribute to floral visitor communities and their networks.

Climate oscillations have left a significant impact on the patterns of genetic diversity observed in numerous taxa. In this study, we examine the effect of Quaternary climate instability on population genetic variability of a bumble bee pollinator species, Bombus huntii in western North America. Pleistocene and contemporary B. huntii habitat suitability (HS) was estimated with an environmental niche model (ENM) by associating 1,035 locality records with 10 bioclimatic variables. To estimate genetic variability, we genotyped 380 individuals from 33 localities at 13 microsatellite loci. Bayesian inference was used to examine population structure with and without a priori specification of geographic locality. We compared isolation by distance (IBD) and isolation by resistance (IBR) models to examine population differentiation within and among the Bayesian inferred genetic clusters. Furthermore, we tested for the effect of environmental niche stability (ENS) on population genetic diversity with linear regression. As predicted, high‐latitude B. huntii habitats exhibit low ENS when compared to low‐latitude habitats. Two major genetic clusters of B. huntii inhabit western North America: (a) a north genetic cluster predominantly distributed north of 28°N and (b) a south genetic cluster distributed south of 28°N. In the south genetic cluser, both IBD and IBR models are significant. However, in the north genetic cluster, IBD is significant but not IBR. Furthermore, the IBR models suggest that low‐latitude montane populations are surrounded by habitat with low HS, possibly limiting dispersal, and ultimately gene flow between populations. Finally, we detected high genetic diversity across populations in regions that have been climatically unstable since the last glacial maximum (LGM), and low genetic diversity across populations in regions that have been climatically stable since the LGM. Understanding how species have responded to climate change has the potential to inform management and conservation decisions of both ecological and economic concerns.

Mexico and Central America are among the most biodiverse regions on Earth, harboring many species with high levels of interpopulation morphological and genetic diversity. The mountainous topography of this region contains isolated sky island habitats that have the potential to promote speciation. This has been studied in vertebrates, yet few studies have examined the phylogeographic and genetic structure of insect species encompassing this region. Here we investigate geographic patterns of genetic and morphological divergence and speciation among widespread populations of the highly polymorphic bumble bee Bombus ephippiatus and its closest relative B. wilmattae. We used DNA sequences from a fragment of cytochrome oxidase I (COI), genotypes for twelve microsatellite markers, and morphometric data from wings to construct a well-supported inference of the divergences among these taxa. We have found complex patterns of genetic isolation and morphological divergence within B. ephippiatus across its geographic range and present evidence that B. ephippiatus comprises multiple independent evolutionary lineages. The pattern of their diversification corresponds to geographic and environmental isolating mechanisms, including the Mexican highlands, the lowlands of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in southern Mexico, the Nicaraguan Depression, the patchily distributed volcanic ranges in Nuclear Central America and Pleistocene glacial cycles. These results have important implications for the development and distribution of B. ephippiatus as a commercial pollinator in Mexico and Central America.

"Se aportan nuevos registros a la fauna de abejas sin aguijón (tribu Meliponini) para los estados de Oaxaca y Chiapas. Para ello, se hicieron muestreos intensivos de estas abejas, con lo cual se reunieron registros de distribución, incluyendo las aportadas por investigadores, las presentes en colecciones y los reportados en la literatura. Se tienen 12 registros nuevos de especies de abejas sin aguijón para Oaxaca y se confirma la presencia en Chiapas de Paratrigona opaca. Adicionalmente, se discute sobre la distribución de estas abejas en estos estados y el país. Se espera que la información sobre la fauna y la distribución de las abejas sin aguijón ayude en los esfuerzos de conservación regional, uso de estas abejas en la meliponicultura y la polinización."

Climate oscillations have left a significant impact on the patterns of genetic diversity observed in numerous taxa. In this study, we examine the effect of Quaternary climate instability on population genetic variability of a bumble bee pollinator species

An unusual deformity is reported for a female of the augochlorine bee Caenaugochlora (Caenaugochlora) inermis (Vachal). The individual has malformations of the vertex which resulted in two additional lateral ocelli near the compound eyes and apparently a forward contraction of the vertex shifting the ocellar triangle further into the upper frons. A brief account and figure of the specimen is provided.

Two new cases of gynandromorphs in bees are described and figured: a mixed, nearly bilateral gynandromorph of the orchid bee Euglossa (Euglossa) tridentata Moure and a mixed gynandromorph of the megachilid bee Megachile (Chelostomoides) otomita Cresson. Records of gynandromorphic bees recently documented in the literature are also summarized. In less than a decade, more than 20 new cases were documented in 15 species and five genera previously unknown; as of today, gynandromorphs are recorded from 113 species in 29 genera of all bee families. Most gynandromorphs have been recorded from the long-tongued bee families Apidae and Megachilidae, but at the generic level, a significant percentage of species are from the megadiverse Megachile s.l. (23% of the total) and Andrena (14%) (Andrenidae). Although gynandromorphs are known from all major biogeographic regions of the world, most are recorded from the Holarctic region (79%) (© 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)