Pollen-collecting by stingless bees on cacao flowers
I came across this very interesting abstract from a study of cacao pollination by meliponine bee Liotrigona parvula Darchen in Africa,(which would be a stngless bee species at least related to those found in Central and South America!).I have been interested in just how many stingless bees might exist in the so called 'Old World' including Africa.I had already been aware that stingless bees exist in Australia and were a source of honey for the Aborigenes.Also someone from Japan had told me their were stingless bees in South East Asia,particularly Thailand.What is new and exciting to me and no doubt to most people interested in cacao is that stingless bees may contribute however sslightly or not,to cacao pollination in Africa and I have just come across a similar claim being made by an investigator in Central America that another stingless bee species has been shown to pollinate cacao in Costa Rica and is competitive in that task with its midge or fly competitors,at least in situations where cacao is growing in direct sunlight !
Excuse the exclamation marks but this stingless bee-cacao pollination is big news and,even for most cacao experts,new news.If true it would show that at least one stingless bee can do the pollination of cacao generally believed done only by tiny flies or midges ! While the African observers appear to be saying that the stingless bee Liotrigona parvula Darchenmay very well be contributing to cacao pollination in cacao plantations,the Costa Rica observers appear to be saying the stingless bee taking pollen in diect sunlight in competition with midges may not be pollinating at all.Still stingless bees do pollinate other trees and crops and are valuable to a diverse ecology including in cacao agro-ecosystems.
http://journals.cambridge.org/actiion/displayAbstract;jsessionid=8D1F87A9AD1AFA5B7A1C53FF2DC8EB40.journals?fromPage=online&aid=5981784
Research Paper Dynamics of cocoa pollination: tools and applications for surveying and monitoring cocoa pollinators
E.A. Frimponga1 c1, I. Gordona2, P.K. Kwaponga1 and B. Gemmill-Herrena3 a1 Department of Entomology and Wildlife, School of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana a2 icipe – African Insect Science for Food and Health, PO Box 30772-00100, Nairobi, Kenya a3 AGPS – FAO, Viale Terme di Caracalla, Rome, Italy
Abstract
Pollinators are important natural agents for fruit and seed formation in most tree crops and the use of appropriate sampling methods is fundamental in studying their population. A study to develop surveying and monitoring protocols for cocoa pollinators was undertaken in Ghana. Yellow, white and blue UV-bright painted pan traps (UVPPT), McPhail traps and motorized aspirators were used to sample pollinators of cocoa for 13 successive months, after 6 days assessment of the effectiveness of the traps and diurnal active period of the pollinators. The peak pollinating period of cocoa by ceratopogonid midges was between 07.00 and 12.00 h, as previously reported. All three methods were effective in sampling ceratopogonid midges with the UVPPT being the most efficient in terms of sampling effort. The number of ceratopogonid midges caught by the yellow-UVPPT was significantly higher than that by blue- and white-UVPPT. The diversity of midges caught could not be determined due to taxonomic difficulties, and thus all the three colours of UVPPT should be used until efficiency in terms of diversity is determined. It is reported here that the meliponine bee Liotrigona parvula Darchen visits cocoa flowers and thus their effectiveness in cocoa pollination should be investigated. ..................................................
E.A. Frimponga1 c1, I. Gordona2, P.K. Kwaponga1 and B. Gemmill-Herrena3 a1 Department of Entomology and Wildlife, School of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana a2 icipe – African Insect Science for Food and Health, PO Box 30772-00100, Nairobi, Kenya a3 AGPS – FAO, Viale Terme di Caracalla, Rome, Italy
Abstract
Pollinators are important natural agents for fruit and seed formation in most tree crops and the use of appropriate sampling methods is fundamental in studying their population. A study to develop surveying and monitoring protocols for cocoa pollinators was undertaken in Ghana. Yellow, white and blue UV-bright painted pan traps (UVPPT), McPhail traps and motorized aspirators were used to sample pollinators of cocoa for 13 successive months, after 6 days assessment of the effectiveness of the traps and diurnal active period of the pollinators. The peak pollinating period of cocoa by ceratopogonid midges was between 07.00 and 12.00 h, as previously reported. All three methods were effective in sampling ceratopogonid midges with the UVPPT being the most efficient in terms of sampling effort. The number of ceratopogonid midges caught by the yellow-UVPPT was significantly higher than that by blue- and white-UVPPT. The diversity of midges caught could not be determined due to taxonomic difficulties, and thus all the three colours of UVPPT should be used until efficiency in terms of diversity is determined. It is reported here that the meliponine bee Liotrigona parvula Darchen visits cocoa flowers and thus their effectiveness in cocoa pollination should be investigated. ..................................................
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http://www.springerlink.com/content/t773gu0133132270/
Pollen-collecting by stingless bees on cacao flowers
Stingless bees (Trigona jaty) routinely visit the flowers ofTheobroma cacao (Sterculiaceae) in the Atlantic lowlands of Costa Rica. The bees collect pollen and behave as pollen thieves in flowers well exposed to direct sunlight in cacao plantations, and avoid flowers in heavy shade. Pollination rates are maximized, however, in heavy shade due to the high abundance of the small-bodied pollinating midges (Ceratopogonidae and Cecidomyiidae) found in such places. Pollen-thieving by stingless bees, therefore, may only impact on fruit set in cacao trees in direct sunlight, with only minimal to no impact in areas of cacao where natural pollinator activity is high.
Key words Trigona jaty - pollination - cacao - sunlight - shadeThis research was funded by grants from The American Cocoa Research Institute of the United States of America. I thank T. Noeske for statistical assistance.
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Comparative analysis of steam distilled floral oils of cacao cultivars (Theobroma cacao L., Sterculiaceae) and attraction of flying insects: Implications for aTheobroma pollination syndrome
Key words Floral oils - cacao - Theobroma cacao - Sterculiaceae - attraction - Diptera - Ceratopogonidae - Cecidomyiidae - Hymenoptera - Apidae - pollination - 1-pentadecene - n-pentadecene
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http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/827515?uid=2129&uid=2&uid=70&uid=4&sid=47698892583737
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http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/827515?uid=2129&uid=2&uid=70&uid=4&sid=47698892583737
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