Bees and melitophilous species of ciliary forest of the Salgadeira stream, municipality of Alcantil, Paraiba, Brazil

• Main Author: Moura, Débora Coelho
• Publication Date: 2018
• Other Authors: Pereira, Thaís Mara Souza, Farias, George Correia de, Leite, Joaquim Efigênio Maia
• Format: Article
• Language: por
• Source: Revista Verde de Agroecologia e Desenvolvimento Sustentavel
• Download full: https://www.gvaa.com.br/revista/index.php/RVADS/article/view/5788
• topic: Bee – plant interaction. Caatinga. Environmental indicators.; Interação abelha - planta. Caatinga. Indicadores ambientais

The Caatinga is located in the intertropical environment and has a complex xerophytic vegetation cover. Its degradation is contributing to the disappearance of species of plants and animals. As bees, participate in the process of pollination, also fits this problem. This study evaluated the richness and abundance of bees in two areas of the Caatinga riparian forest in the preserved and degraded (salinized) stretches of the Salgadeira stream. The selected areas were collected in the period of May and June of 2016. Each sample is characterized by twelve collections, in two consecutive days between 06:00 and 15:00 h. The volume was calculated in 491 individuals from 34 plant species of five families. The composition of apifauna was recorded by 52 individuals of 12 species in the part of the preserved ciliary forest, whereas a degraded area occurred, only one species, with 4 individuals. Apis mellifera and Trigona spinipes accounted for 2/3 of all samples, mainly from the degraded area. It is recorded the presence of Cebulus longipalpis, an oligolética species, which is a dependence with Varronia leucocephala, being this genus the only endemic of the Caatinga. From the results considered, the bees from preserved environments are threatened by the degradation with deforestation of the vegetation cover in the area.