THE ROLE OF STINGLESS BEES IN CROP POLLINATION

Stingless bees (Apidae: Meliponini) are common visitors to flowering plants in the tropics, but evidence for their importance and effectiveness as crop pollinators is lacking for most plant species. They are known to visit the flowers of ∼90 crop species. They were confirmed to be effective and impo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Annual review of entomology 1999-01, Vol.44 (1), p.183-206
Main Author: Heard, Tim A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
alternative pollinators
Animal and plant ecology
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Apidae
Biological and medical sciences
entomophily
floral biology
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Meliponini
Synecology
Terrestrial ecosystems
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Summary:Stingless bees (Apidae: Meliponini) are common visitors to flowering plants in the tropics, but evidence for their importance and effectiveness as crop pollinators is lacking for most plant species. They are known to visit the flowers of ∼90 crop species. They were confirmed to be effective and important pollinators of 9 species. They may make a contribution to the pollination of ∼60 other species, but there is insufficient information to determine their overall effectiveness or importance. They have been recorded from another 20 crops, but other evidence suggests that they do not have an important role because these plants are pollinated by other means. The strengths and limitations of stingless bees as crop pollinators are discussed. Aspects of their biology that impact on their potential for crop pollination are reviewed, including generalized flower visiting behavior of colonies, floral constancy of individual bees, flight range, and the importance of natural vegetation for maintaining local populations.
ISSN:0066-4170
1545-4487
DOI:10.1146/annurev.ento.44.1.183