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Bees of Zihuatanejo

EPIFAMILY ANTHOPHILA

-Animals (Kingdom Animalia)

-Arthropods (Phylum Arthropoda)

-Hexapods (Subphylum Hexapoda)

-Insects (Class Insecta)

-Winged and Once-winged Insects (Subclass Pterygota)

-Ants, Bees, Wasps, and Sawflies (Order Hymenoptera)

-Narrow-waisted Wasps, Ants, and Bees (Suborder Apocrita)

-Ants, Bees, and Stinging Wasps (Infraorder Aculeata)

-Bees and Apoid Wasps (Superfamily Apoidea)

-Bees (Epifamily Anthophila)

-​Honey Bees, Bumble Bees, and Allies (Family Apidae)

-Apine Bees (Subfamily Apinae)​

-Stingless Bees (Tribe Meliponini)

-Genus Scaptotrigona


Unlike honey bees, stingless bees do not have a stinger; instead, they defend their nests using alternative methods, such as biting. Unlike honey bees, stingless bees do not have a stinger; instead, they defend their nests using alternative methods, such as biting. Unlike honey bees, stingless bees do not have a stinger; instead, they defend their nests using alternative methods, such as biting.



Scaptotrigona​ Stingless Bees

Scaptotrigona​ (Genus)

Range

  • The genus Scaptotrigona is distributed from Mexico through Central America and much of South America, extending to Brazil, Bolivia, and Paraguay.

  • Numerous species occur throughout Mexico, including the Pacific coast of Guerrero and the Zihuatanejo region.

  • Most species are found in tropical and subtropical lowland forests.

Habitat

  • Inhabits tropical dry forests, tropical rainforests, mangroves, woodland edges, secondary forests, orchards, gardens, and agricultural areas.

  • Colonies nest in hollow tree trunks, tree cavities, rock crevices, wall cavities, and occasionally abandoned termite nests.

  • Nest entrances are often constructed from wax and plant resins, forming distinctive tubes or funnels.

Behaviour

  • Highly social, living in perennial colonies containing thousands to tens of thousands of workers, a single queen, and seasonal males.

  • Workers forage throughout the day, collecting nectar, pollen, plant resins, and water from a wide variety of flowering plants.

  • Because they lack a functional sting, they defend the colony by biting, swarming intruders, and coating them with sticky plant resins.

  • Workers communicate food locations using pheromone trails and recruitment signals, allowing large numbers of bees to exploit rich floral resources efficiently.

Size

  • Worker length: 4–7 mm (0.16–0.28 in)

  • Queen length: 6–9 mm (0.24–0.35 in)

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