Trigona hypogea is a species of stingless bee from the Neotropics; it is unusual in that it is one of only three known species of bee that exclusively uses carrion as a protein source, rather than pollen,[1] earning it the nickname "vulture bee".

Trigona hypogea
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Apidae
Genus: Trigona
Species:
T. hypogea
Binomial name
Trigona hypogea
Silvestri, 1902

Taxonomy

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The earliest research into vulture bees was undertaken prior to the realization, in 1991, that there were three vulture bee species rather than one,[1] and focused on Trigona necrophaga in Panama (e.g.[2]). It was not until 1996 that a detailed study of genuine Trigona hypogea in Brazil was finally published.[3]

Biology

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In Trigona hypogea, when a forager returns to the nest, the regurgitated material derived from animal carcasses is deposited in special pots and later mixed with sugary plant products; they do not gather nectar or produce honey, but they gather sugary secretions from fruit and non-floral sources (e.g., extrafloral nectaries), and at least initially regurgitate these into separate pots within the colony.[3] After being mixed, the pots remain uncapped for about a day, and are then closed and allowed to mature for about two weeks. During this time the carrion-derived materials degrade into simple compounds used by the bees. The stored substance is initially paste-like, but it becomes a viscous fluid, and eventually becomes sweet and honey-like, homogeneous and yellowish.[3] Earlier analyses of T. hypogea nests had incorrectly assumed that the pale sweet liquid found in the colonies was florally-derived honey.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Camargo, João M. F.; Roubik, David W. (September 1991). "Systematics and bionomics of the apoid obligate necrophages: the Trigona hypogea group (Hymenoptera: Apidae; Meliponinae)". Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 44 (1): 13–39. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8312.1991.tb00604.x.
  2. ^ Roubik, D.W. (1982). "Obligate Necrophagy in a Social Bee". Science 217 (4564): 1059–60
  3. ^ a b c F. B. Noll, R. Zucchi, J. A. Jorge, S. Mateus (1996) Food collection and maturation in the necrophagous stingless bee, Trigona hypogea (Hymenoptera: Meliponinae). Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 69(4), Supplement: Special Publication Number 2: 287-293