Radiofrequency identification (RFID) reveals long-distance flight and homing abilities of the stingless bee Melipona fasciculata.

Determining bee flight capacity is crucial for developing management strategies for bee conservation and/or crop pollination and purposes. In this study, we determined the flight distance of the stingless bee Melipona fasciculata using the radiofrequency identification (RFID) technology. For this, we conducted two translocation experiments using workers equipped with RFID microsensors: (1) release of bees at seven distances between 100 and 3000 m from experimental colonies in Belém, Brazil, and (2) at six distances between 1500 and 10,000 m at Carajás National Forest Reserve. Return rates of workers were negatively correlated to release distance, with typical flight distances of 2 km, but a maximum homing distance of 10 km. Use of RFID tags revealed how past experiments may have greatly underestimated homing abilities of stingless bees.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	NUNES-SILVA, P., COSTA, L., CAMPBELL, A. J., ARRUDA, H., CONTRERA, F. A. L., TEIXEIRA, J. S. G., GOMES, R. L. C., PESSIN, G., PEREIRA, D. S., SOUZA, P. de, IMPERATRIZ-FONSECA, V. L.
Other Authors:	Patrícia NUNES-SILVA, Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos; Luciano COSTA, Instituto Tecnológico Vale; Alistair John CAMPBELL, Instituto Tecnológico Vale; Helder ARRUDA, Instituto Tecnológico Vale; Felipe Andres Leon CONTRERA, UFPA; Juliana Stephanie Galaschi TEIXEIRA, Instituto Tecnológico Vale; Rafael Leandro Corrêa GOMES, UFPA; Gustavo PESSIN, Instituto Tecnológico Vale; DANIEL SANTIAGO PEREIRA, CPATU; Paulo de SOUZA, Data61, CSIRO; Vera Lucia IMPERATRIZ-FONSECA, Instituto Tecnológico Vale.
Format:	Artigo de periódico biblioteca
Language:	English eng
Published:	2020-01-24
Subjects:	RFID, Alcance de voo, Abelha sem ferrão, Identificação por radiofreqüência, Abelha, Melipona, Stingless bees,
Online Access:	http://www.alice.cnptia.embrapa.br/alice/handle/doc/1119307
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