<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>Stingless bees constitute an important group of bee diversity providing a vital ecological service i.e. pollination. From India, nine species of stingless bees have been reported out of which <italic>Tetragonula iridipennis</italic> Smith is widely distributed. Studies revealed that the majority (86.67%) of these bees’ nests were present in brick walls and the remaining (13.33%) were in cavities of hollow tree trunks. Most of the colonies nested at a height of 3.50 m from the ground. Most of the nests (56.67%) had entrances oriented to the east. No distinct entrance tube was observed in 26.92 per cent of the colonies. Overall average entrance tube dimensions (longer side diameter × shorter side diameter × tube length) were 11.62 × 11.73 × 14.04 mm. In all the nests, brood area was surrounded by pollen pots and a few honey pots. The mean dimensions (depth × width) of brood cells, honey pots and pollen pots were 2.79 × 2.62 mm, 5.33 × 4.52 mm and 6.93 × 5.19 mm, respectively. All of the sixty colonies whether in brick/stone walls or in hollow tree trunks overwintered successfully. Our results can be useful for developing conservation measures for <italic>T. iridipennis</italic> and its augmentation for crop pollination.</p>
</abstract>

Stingless bees constitute an important group of bee diversity providing a vital ecological service i.e. pollination. From India, nine species of stingless bees have been reported out of which Tetragonula iridipennis Smith is widely distributed. Studies revealed that the majority (86.67%) of these bees’ nests were present in brick walls and the remaining (13.33%) were in cavities of hollow tree trunks. Most of the colonies nested at a height of 3.50 m from the ground. Most of the nests (56.67%) had entrances oriented to the east. No distinct entrance tube was observed in 26.92 per cent of the colonies. Overall average entrance tube dimensions (longer side diameter × shorter side diameter × tube length) were 11.62 × 11.73 × 14.04 mm. In all the nests, brood area was surrounded by pollen pots and a few honey pots. The mean dimensions (depth × width) of brood cells, honey pots and pollen pots were 2.79 × 2.62 mm, 5.33 × 4.52 mm and 6.93 × 5.19 mm, respectively. All of the sixty colonies whether in brick/stone walls or in hollow tree trunks overwintered successfully. Our results can be useful for developing conservation measures for T. iridipennis and its augmentation for crop pollination.

Nest Architecture and Nesting Site Preference of <italic>Tetragonula iridipennis</italic> Smith in North-Western Plains of India

Journal of Apicultural Science

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Nest Architecture and Nesting Site Preference of  Smith in North-Western Plains of India

Stingless bees constitute an important group of bee diversity providing a vital ecological service i.e. pollination. From India, nine species of stingless bees...

Nest Architecture and Nesting Site Preference of Tetragonula iridipennis Smith in North-Western Plains of India

Article Category: Original Article

Published Online: Mar 03, 2021

Page range: 49 - 59

Received: Apr 15, 2019

Accepted: Nov 20, 2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jas-2021-0003

Keywords
nest architecture, nesting site, stingless bee,

© 2021 Amit Choudhary et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Nest Architecture and Nesting Site Preference of Tetragonula iridipennis Smith in North-Western Plains of India

Article Category: Original Article

Published Online: Mar 03, 2021

Page range: 49 - 59

Received: Apr 15, 2019

Accepted: Nov 20, 2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jas-2021-0003

Keywordsnest architecture, nesting site, stingless bee,

© 2021 Amit Choudhary et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Keywords
nest architecture, nesting site, stingless bee,