Plantas utilizadas para a coleta de pólen por Melipona quadrifasciata anthidioides Lepeletier 1836 (Hymenoptera, Apidae) na região central de Dourados – MS

Abstract

Meliponineos are the main groups of pollinators in the ecosystem. The species Melipona quadrifasciata Lepeletier 1836 is found in several regions of Brazil associated with the Atlantic Forest and with great potential for beekeeping. In this work, the species of plants visited for pollen collection by Melipona quadrifasciata anthidioides were identified using five colonies in the central area of Dourados - MS, collecting at least three bees at the entrance of the nest daily from 6:00 am to 8:00 am in the months of april and may 2013. The pollen loads were removed from the pollen baskets (corbiculae) and then, the pollen samples were placed in flasks containing glacial acetic acid. These samples were submitted to the acetolysis process to prepare the pollen grains. The pollen grain identifications were performed by comparisons with the LAN/FCBA palynological collection, based on their morphologies and also by consulting the specialized literature. The pollen grains found in the samples represented 10 morphological types distributed in 4 families, with 6 different genera, of which only 1 was separated at the species level. The most frequent families were Myrtaceae (50%), Fabaceae (34%) and Caricaceae (14%). The most frequent species were Myrtaceae sp1. (87%), Carica papaya (33%), Mimosa sp. (21%) e Bauhinia sp. (18%).