Pollen used by Euglossa annectans Dressler, 1892 (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Euglossini) in adults and immature feed

• Grant number: 14/22260-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: January 01, 2015
• End date: December 31, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology - Applied Ecology
• Principal Investigator: Isabel Alves dos Santos
• Grantee: Priscilla Baruffaldi Bittar
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The pollen stored in brood cells in a bee's nest to feed their immature represents the flora used in foraging females. Through the identification of pollen grains, we can understand the plant taxa used by the species as a food source. This proposal aims to investigate the pollen used by Euglossa annectans through samples of brood cells in a nest kept in Lab. De Abelhas at USP, in order to identify the selectivity of females and floral dominance of the species. For that, we are going to collect periodically samples of pollen grains of each cell brood, fix each individually in 70% ethanol and subsequently subject them to acetolysis procedure. After homogenization and preparation of slides, the sampled pollen grains will be identified by comparisons with the reference collection and the pollen descriptions presented in the literature. On each sample, we will count the first 400 grains and grouped into pollen types. For data analyses, amplitude of the niche, apparent number of pollen types used, equitability of Pielou, nesting, modularity and degree of variation in the diet of the population: to characterize the trophic niche of the species the following parameters will be calculated.