Abstract The genus Melipona is subdivided into four subgenera based on morphological characteristics, and two groups based on cytogenetic patterns. The cytogenetic information on this genus is still scarce, therefore, the goal of this study was to characterize Melipona paraensis, Melipona puncticollis, and Melipona seminigra pernigra using the following techniques: C-banding, DAPI/CMA3 fluorochromes, and FISH with an 18S rDNA probe. Melipona paraensis (2n=18) and M. seminigra pernigra (2n=22) were classified as high heterochromatin content species (Group II). Their euchromatin is restricted to the ends of the chromosomes and is CMA3+; the 18S rDNA probe marked chromosome pair number 4. Melipona puncticollis (2n=18) is a low heterochromatin content species (Group I) with chromosome pair number 1 marked with CMA3 and 18S rDNA. Low heterochromatin content is a putative ancestral karyotype in this genus and high content is not a monophyletic trait (Melikerria presents species with both patterns). Differences concerning the karyotypic characteristics can be observed among Melipona species, revealing cytogenetic rearrangements that occurred during the evolution of this genus. Studies in other species will allow us to better understand the processes that shaped the chromatin evolution in Melipona.

Análises fisico-quimicas foram realizadas para avaliar vinte e sete amostras de mel de três espécies do gênero Melipona (M. capixaba, M. rufiventris e M. mondury) coletadas nos Estados do Espírito Santo e de Minas Gerais. Os parâmetros atividade de água (aW), porcentagem de sólidos solúveis (Brix %), pH, acidez (meq.Kg-1) e umidade (%) foram avaliados. As características do mel dessas amostras foram muito similares às do mel de outras espécies de Melipona. Entretanto, para o mel de Apis apenas os valores de pH foram similares. O baixo valor de pH e a elevada acidez detectados no mel de Melipona são fatores potenciais para uma maior vida útil do mesmo por não oferecerem condições favoráveis ao desenvolvimento microbiano. Por outro lado, o alto teor de atividade de água favorece o crescimento de microrganismos, especialmente de leveduras o que requer maior cuidado no manuseio e armazenamento do mel. As diferenças observadas entre o mel de Melipona e o de Apis reforçam a necessidade de estabelecimento de padrões de qualidade específicos para o mel de abelhas sem ferrão.

Physicochemical analyses were carried out to evaluate 27 samples of honeys from three species of the Brazilian genus Melipona (M. capixaba, M. rufiventris and M. mondury) from Espírito Santo and Minas Gerais States. The parameters water activity (Aw), percentage of soluble solids (Brix %), pH, acidity (meq/Kg) and moisture (%) were evaluated. The honey characteristics obtained from these samples were very similar to the ones from other Melipona species. However, regarding the honey from Apis (honey bee), only the pH values were similar. The low pH value and the high acidity detected in Melipona honey are potential factors for increasing the honey shelf life because they do not provide favorable conditions for the microbial development. On the other hand, the high level of water activity favors the growth of microorganisms, especially yeast, which demands a more careful handled and storage. The observed differences between Melipona and Apis honey reinforce the need for specific quality settings for stingless bee honey.

Due to their high degree of polymorphism, microsatellites are considered useful tools for studying population genetics. Nevertheless, studies of genetic diversity in stingless bees by means of these primers have revealed a low level of polymorphism, possibly the consequence of the heterologous primers used, since in most cases these were not specifically designed for the species under consideration. Herein we compared the number of polymorphic loci and alleles per locus, as well as observed heterozygosity in Melipona rufiventris and M. mondury populations, using specific and heterologous primers. The use of specific primers placed in evidence the greater frequency of polymorphic loci and alleles per locus, besides an expressive increase in observed heterozygosity in M. rufiventris and M. mondury, thereby reinforcing the idea that populational studies should be undertaken by preferably using species-specific microsatellite primers.

Melipona quadrifasciata Lepeletier, 1836, regionally known as "mandaçaia", has been traditionally divided in two distinct subspecies: M. quadrifasciata anthidioides and M. quadrifasciata quadrifasciata. The main difference between the subspecies refers to the yellow metasomal stripes which are continuous in M. q. quadrifasciata and discontinuous in M. q. anthidioides. This study investigated the geographic differentiation in the metasomal stripes and characterized the restriction sites in the mtDNA of both chromatic types. Specimens from 198 localities were examined, and the variation observed in the pattern of stripes was grouped into distinct classes. The distribution pattern found in the present work agrees with the previously reported pattern: M. q. quadrifasciata inhabits the southern portion of the distribution, from Misiones, Argentina, southeastern Paraguay and Rio Grande do Sul to southern São Paulo, and M. q. anthidioides ranges from northeastern São Paulo to the northern Diamantina Plateau, Bahia, and westwards to the central portion of the Goiás state. It is documented for the first time the occurrence of two populations with continuous stripes inhabiting disjunct areas in relation to M. q. quadrifasciata - one in northern Minas Gerais and another in northeastern Bahia and Sergipe. The data of RFLP showed two restriction patterns, one present in M. q. quadrifasciata, and another in M. q. anthidioides and in populations with continuous metasomal stripes from northern Minas Gerais and northeastern Bahia and Sergipe. The observed patterns of geographic differentiation of M. quadrifasciata suggests the occurrence of repeated events of geographical isolation, followed by range expansion, that occurred probably during the cycles of climatic changes in the Pleistocene.

A abelha sem ferrão Melipona capixaba Moure & Camargo é uma espécie restrita à Mata Atlântica nos municípios de Domingos Martins, Conceição do Castelo, Venda Nova do Imigrante e Afonso Cláudio, ES. Apesar de sua importância ecológica como polinizador, poucos estudos têm investigado a biologia e ecologia dessa abelha, popularmente conhecida como uruçu-negra, pé-de-pau, ou uruçu-capixaba. Esta nota relata uma observação de operárias de M. capixaba carregando polinário preso ao escutelo. Os polinários foram identificados como pertencentes a uma espécie da subtribo Maxillariinae e, possivelmente, a um dos gêneros Maxillaria sensu lato ou Xylobium.

The stingless bee Melipona capixaba Moure & Camargo is a species restricted to the Atlantic forest in the Domingos Martins, Conceição do Castelo, Venda Nova do Imigrante and Afonso Cláudio County, in the Espírito Santo State, Brazil. Despite its cological importance as pollinator few studies have examined the ecology and biology of this bee. This note relates a case of the M. capixaba workers carrying pollinarium attached to the scuttellum. The pollinaria were identified as belonging to the orchid subtribe Maxillariinae species possibly of the genus Maxillaria sensu lato or Xylobium.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi o de testar três protocolos de extração de DNA utilizados para Apis, plantas e fungos, visando determinar um que seja eficiente para extração de DNA de Melipona quadrifasciata. Esses métodos diferem nas concentrações de componentes específicos do tampão de extração. Os resultados obtidos mostraram que a metodologia recomendada para extração de DNA de Apis não é adequada para a extração de DNA de M. quadrifasciata. Entretanto, com pequenas modificações, este método, bem como aquele utilizado para a extração de DNA de plantas e fungos, mostrou-se eficiente para a extração de DNA desta abelha sem ferrão, tanto de indivíduos adultos como de larvas

The objective of the present study was to test three different procedures for DNA extraction of Melipona quadrifasciata based on existing methods for DNA extraction of Apis, plants and fungi. These methods differ in the concentrations of specific substances in the extraction buffer. The results demonstrate that the method used for Apis is not adequate for DNA extraction from M. quadrifasciata. On the other hand, with minor modifications this method and the methods for plants and fungi were adequate for DNA extraction of this stingless bee, both for adults and larvae