Um novo método de multiplicação de colônias de Melipona subnitida ducke (Hymenoptera: Apidae) por aproveitamento de rainhas virgens

Abstract

Meliponines are a diverse group of tropical bees, highly eussocial and important pollinators of agricultural crops and wild plants. Meliponiculture is a traditional activity in Brazil and has great potential for expansion, but it has limitations, among them those related to the production of new colonies in rational farms. In this sense, we tested the use of the excess of virgin queens produced in colonies of Melipona subnitida to multiply them, using the minimum resources possible from the original colonies. Virgin queens were evaluated for different age categories, the influence of this factor on the acceptance by workers and the establishment of new colonies, in addition to the main behaviors performed by these individuals and their possible connection to physiological factors. After that, we evaluated the fertilization efficiency of queens and the establishment of new colonies in meliponaries of different male production environments and contexts. The results showed that in the colonies multiplication method by using virgin queens, the age of the virgin queens is not a limiting factor for their acceptance by the workers in the tested context, and that the existence of clusters of males is fundamental for the fertilization and establishment of the new colonies. Under these conditions, the method had a 36.7% success rate, producing a new colony for every three queens that would be wasted. The method proved to be very promising, considering the use of virgin queens that are normally eliminated, less use of resources and optimization of time in the formation of new colonies.