Ocorrência de abelhas (Hymenoptera, Apoidea) em áreas produtoras de café

Abstract

Pollinators have become a target of several kinds of research as they are recognized for their contribution to the productivity of many cultivated plant species. Monitoring and conservation initiatives are fundamental to enable the detection of long-term changes in the richness and abundance of these pollinators. Studies related to floral visitor species identification in these crops, as well as to better comprehend relationships between plant species used in agriculture and their pollinators, are important for conservation and management strategies development. Thus, we aimed in the second chapter of this work to evaluate the efficiency of colored traps in general bees sampling, and in floral visitors and coffee pollinator bees. Sampling was done in three areas for eighteen months using white, blue, yellow, and red pan traps. In white, blue, and yellow traps were collected greater species richness and abundance when compared to red trap. The one with blue color presented the highest diversity of species and the ones with white, yellow, and red presented similar diversity. White and blue color traps most often attracted floral visitors and pollinator species. The use of white, blue, yellow, and red traps was complementary for bee community sampling in studied areas. In the third chapter of this work, we aimed to identify floral visitors during coffee flowering, separating them among visitor and pollinator categories, also evaluating their possible influence on grain productivity. For this purpose, we performed direct observations during the first day of flowering in three areas, as well as monitoring fruits formed until maturation. We observed the frequency of visitors and foraging behavior. To evaluate visit influence on grain productivity and weight, tests wer e performed with branches protected with Tulle and unprotected. We obtained grain dry weight from 50 grains of each branch. 443 specimens distributed among 22 bee and wasp species were observed in three areas. The most frequent visitors to flowers were Apis mellifera (38.6%), followed by Paratrigona subnuda (23.9%), Tetragonisca angustula (15.6%), and Trigona spinipes (8.1%). Disproportionate branches increased on average by 11.2% in fruiting and 23.9% in grain weight. The most frequently observed visitors, such as A. mellifera, Tetragonisca angustula, Trigona spinipes, and P. subnuda can be considered coffee crop pollinators.