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Agrosilvopastoral (ASP) systems are sustainable production models for expansion in Brazil, and selecting the appropriate tree species is a fundamental requirement of ASP systems and a function of edaphoclimatic conditions. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the biotic and abiotic factors that influence the initial growth and adaptation of two Eucalyptus genotypes (Eucalyptus cloeziana and Eucalyptus urograndis) intercropped with Sorghum bicolor and Urochloa brizantha in ASP systems in the Brazilian Cerrado. The damages, weaknesses, survival rates, diameters at soil height and breast height, and the total height of trees were evaluated over four years, considering rainy and dry periods. The data were analyzed using a correlation matrix and analysis of variance. Trigona spinipes and termites were the main biotic factors that caused damage and weakness in the E. cloeziana and E. urograndis genotypes, respectively. Eucalyptus urograndis showed a higher total height and diameter at breast height than E. cloeziana at 450, 630, 1020, and 1320 days after transplanting. Eucalyptus cloeziana had the highest survival rate (80.6%), whereas E. urograndis was more tolerant to water stress. Thus, even with severe termite attacks after sorghum harvest, E. urograndis was better adapted to the edaphoclimatic conditions in the present study and it is recommended in ASP systems in sites with high temperature and irregular rainfall distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sewage sludge is an organic matter-rich material with abundant fractions of nitrogen and other macro and micronutrients, essential for plant growth and development such as Acacia mangium Willd. (Fabales: Fabaceae) used in recovering actions of degraded areas. The objective of this study was to evaluate over 24 months the abundance and diversity of chewing and pollinator insects and arthropod predators on A. mangium plants and the mass production and soil coverage by this plant, fertilized with dehydrated sewage sludge, in a degraded area. The experimental design was in randomized blocks with two treatments (with and without dehydrated sewage sludge) and 24 replications. The number of leaves per branch and branches per plant, defoliation percentage by chewing insects, soil cover and abundance of chewing and pollinator insects and arthropod predators were higher on A. mangium plants fertilized with dehydrated sewage sludge. Nasutitermes sp. (Blattodea: Termitidae) and Trigona spinipes F. (Hymenoptera: Apidae) were the most observed insects on trunks and leaves, respectively, of A. mangium plants fertilized with dehydrated sewage sludge. The A. mangium fertilization increases the populations of different insect and spider groups on this plant.

A abelha-irapuá, Trigona spinipes, é considerada um inseto-praga de várias culturas, por se alimentar de folhas e principalmente de flores e frutos. Os objetivos deste trabalho foram caracterizar o dano provocado pela irapuá em flores de mirtileiro (Vaccinium ashei Read.) e avaliar a frutificação efetiva e a qualidade da fruta produzida. O experimento foi conduzido no pomar experimental de mirtileiro, da Embrapa Clima Temperado em Pelotas, RS. Foram marcadas 200 flores de mirtileiro, seleção 103, sendo 100 destas com dano feito pela irapuá e 100 sem o dano. Após a floração, foi observada a frutificação efetiva, e por ocasião da colheita, foram determinados o teor de sólidos solúveis totais (SST), o diâmetro dos frutos e o número de sementes por fruto. O delineamento experimental foi o inteiramente casualizado. Nas flores sem danos da irapuá, houve maior percentagem de frutificação efetiva, e as frutas oriundas das mesmas apresentaram maior diâmetro e maior quantidade de sementes. O teor de SST nas frutas de mirtilo, oriundas tanto das flores com dano como daquelas sem dano, foi semelhante. Esses resultados sugerem que a T. spinipes é prejudicial à cultura do mirtilo, principalmente na época de floração, pois os danos causados pelo inseto provocaram baixa frutificação, frutas de tamanho reduzido e com menor quantidade de sementes.The irapuá Trigona spinipes is considered a pest insect of several crops because it feeds on their leaves, flowers and fruits. The aim of this study was to characterize the damage caused by irapuá on blueberry flowers (Vaccinium ashei) over the fruit set and fruit quality. The experiment was conducted in a blueberry collection of Embrapa Clima Temperado, in Pelotas, RS. Two hundred flowers were observed, being one hundred of them with irapuá damage and the other 100 flowers without damage. The fruit set was recorded as well as the level of soluble solids (TSS), the fruit diameter and number of seeds at the time of harvesting. A completely randomized design was used. Flowers without irapuá damage showed a higher percentage of fruit set and the produced fruit had a greater diameter and larger quantities of seeds. The TSS content on the fruits from flowers with or without irapuá damage was similar. These results suggest that T. spinipes is harmful to the blueberry culture, mainly at time of flowering, because the inset damage causes low fruit set and the production of small fruits with less seeds

Conduziu-se este trabalho, com o objetivo de inventariar as plantas visitadas por abelhas em uma área de cerrado no município de Cassilândia/MS (19°06'48"S; 51°44'03"W), classificando-as para a elaboração de um catálogo de pasto apícola. Os dados foram obtidos quinzenalmente, de março/2003 a fevereiro/2004, em uma trilha com 3000 metros de extensão. A flora apícola foi representada por 49 espécies pertencentes a 41 gêneros e 26 famílias. A família Malpighiaceae apresentou maior número de espécies visitadas (12,2%) e a família Sapindaceae o maior número de abelhas coletadas (18%). Com relação ao nicho trófico ocupado pelas abelhas, apenas Apis mellifera e Trigona spinipes apresentaram atividade de forrageamento em um grande número de plantas, sendo 36,7% do total de espécies identificadas visitados pelas duas espécies. Os diferentes períodos de florescimento das espécies vegetais existentes no cerrado garantem oferta de recurso alimentar durante todo o ano.The aim of this study is listing the plants visited by bees in a savannah area of Cassilândia/MS, Brazil (19°06'48"S; 51°44'03"W) to develop bee plant catalogue. The data were obtained twice a month from March/2003 to February/2004, along a 3 km track. The flora was represented by 49 species, 41 genera and 26 families. The Malpighiaceae family presented the highest number of visited species (12,2%) and Sapindaceae family the highest number of bees collected (18%). Regarding to the trofic niche used by bees, only Apis mellifera and Trigona spinipes presented collection activity in a great number of plants so that, 36,7% of the total of identified plant species was visited by the two species. The different blossom periods of plant species in savannah guarantee the occurrence of feed source for bees during all year long.

Erythrina crista-galli is a characteristic species of the Pampa biome also used as an ornament in urban arborization. Erythrina crista-galli flourishes more intensively from November to Decem¬ber. Anthesis starts around 7:00 am to 11:00 am, and flowers last five days. A total of 1,275 floral visits were registered over 57h of observations. Apidae bees (Trigona spinipes and Apis mellifera) were the most frequent visitors (88.23%), followed by Muscidae flies (5.50%), Formicidae ants (2.35%), Vespidae wasps (1.56%), and Chrysomelidae beetles (1.56%). Trochilidae hummingbirds (Chlorostilbon aureoventris) (0.79%) also visited the flowers. Trigona spinipes was observed at throughout the daytime and behaved as a probable pollinator, along with A. mellifera and C. aureoventris. E. crista-galli is autocompatible, producing fruits and seeds after manual pollination and under natural conditions.

Erythrina crista-galli é uma espécie característica do bioma Pampa, também usada com fins ornamentais em arborização urbana. E. crista-galli floresce mais intensamente de novembro a dezembro. A antese inicia entre 7h-11h, e as flores têm duração de cinco dias. Um total de 1.275 visitas florais foi registrado em 57h de observações. Abelhas da família Apidae (Trigona spinipes e Apis mellifera) foram os visitantes fl orais mais freqüentes (88,23%), seguidos de moscas (Muscidae – 5,50%), formigas (Formicidae – 2,35%), vespas (Vespidae – 1,56%) e besouros (Chrysomelidae – 1,56%). As flores também foram visitadas por beija-flores da família Trochilidae (Chlorostilbon aureoventris) (0,79%). A abelha T. spinipes foi observada em todos os horários e apresentou comportamento de possível polinizadora, juntamente com A. mellifera e o beija-fl or C. aureoventris. E. crista-galli é autocompatível, apresentando produção de frutos e sementes após a polinização manual e sob condições naturais.

O feijão guandu Cajanus cajan L. é uma cultura comum, encontrada com freqüência em todo o Brasil, principalmente em pequenas propriedades rurais. Este trabalho teve por objetivo obter informações sobre a diversidade de abelhas visitantes das flores do feijão guandu, gerando informações sobre a estrutura da comunidade de abelhas e a importância desta leguminosa como fonte de recursos tróficos. As coletas foram feitas semanalmente, entre maio e outubro de 2005, na área experimental de Entomologia do Centro de Ciências Agrárias da UFBA, localizada no município de Cruz das Almas, Bahia, no intervalo entre as 6:00 e as 18:00 horas. Um total de 4.676 indivíduos foi coletado visitando as flores do feijão guandu. A família Apidae foi representada por 99,3% dos indivíduos e 76,2% das espécies amostradas. Os gêneros Xylocopa e Trigona foram os que apresentaram maior riqueza, com quatro e três espécies, respectivamente. Trigona spinipes foi a espécie mais abundante, com freqüência relativa igual a 83,1%, seguida de Nannotrigona testaceicornis (5,1%).Pigeonpea, Cajanus cajan L. is a common crop, frequently found throughout Brazil, mainly in small rural properties. This research was aimed at geting information on the diversity of visiting bees to flowers of pigeonpea, generating information on the structure of the bee community and the importance of this Leguminosae as source of food resources. Collections had been made weekly, between May and October 2005 in the Experimental area of the Center of Agrarian Sciences and Environmental of the UFBA, located in the Cruz das Almas, Bahia, in the interval between 6:00 AM and 06:00 PM. A total of 4.676 individuals was collected visiting the pigeonpea flowers. The Apidae family was represented by 99.25% of individuals and 76.19% of total species. The genera Xylocopa and Trigona were the ones that showed greater richness, with four and three species, respectively. Trigona spinipes was the most abundant species, with relative frequency of 83.1%, followed by Nannotrigona testaceicornis (5.1%).

The stingless bee Trigona spinipes (Fabricius, 1793) (Hymenoptera: Apidae) is an important pollinator for various crops, but constitutes an occasional pest of other plant species since it causes injury to leaves, stems, flowers and fruits while collecting nest materials. The aim of the present study was to determine the damage caused by T. spinipes to a broccoli (Brassica oleracea L. var. italica, Brassicaceae) growing on an organic farm. A significant number of plants (72.5 %) presented damaged inflorescences, while 39% of all of the inflorescences suffered some degree of injury. The activities of T. spinipes caused scarifications on the stems of the inflorescences, and these typically evolved to epidermal cicatrices up to 10 mm wide. In some cases, the lesions were sufficiently deep to cause partial destruction of the vascular tissues, and this lead to thinner (< 5 mm diameter) floral stems that may collapse. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report concerning the attack of broccoli plants by T. spinipes. The results obtained should serve to highlight the possibility that stingless bees could be responsible for direct and/or indirect damage to vegetable crops, and to stimulate the development of control strategies for these incidental pests.

A ocorrência de Aethalion reticulatum, Linnaeus, 1767 (Hemiptera: Aethalionidae) ou cigarrinha do pedúnculo, em manga Mangifera indica (Anacardiaceae), já foi relatada em diversos estados do país. Algumas relações aparentemente comensais podem ocorrer entre cigarrinhas e abelhas sem ferrão, principalmente trigonas. Nesse trabalho, analisamos o comportamento de interação entre a abelha Trigona spinipes Fabricius, 1793 e a cigarrinha do pedúnculo A. reticulatum. Os comportamentos de T. spinipes defendendo e estimulando a cigarrinha para obter honeydew foram observados e descritos. Essa associação é mutuamente benéfica, sem implicar necessariamente dependência ou inter-dependência obrigatória. Todavia, pode prejudicar ainda mais a produção de frutos da mangueira.

Sewage sludge is an organic matter-rich material with abundant fractions of nitrogen and other macro and micronutrients, essential for plant growth and development such as Acacia mangium Willd. (Fabales: Fabaceae) used in recovering actions of degraded areas. The objective of this study was to evaluate over 24 months the abundance and diversity of chewing and pollinator insects and arthropod predators on A. mangium plants and the mass production and soil coverage by this plant, fertilized with dehydrated sewage sludge, in a degraded area. The experimental design was in randomized blocks with two treatments (with and without dehydrated sewage sludge) and 24 replications. The number of leaves per branch and branches per plant, defoliation percentage by chewing insects, soil cover and abundance of chewing and pollinator insects and arthropod predators were higher on A. mangium plants fertilized with dehydrated sewage sludge. Nasutitermes sp. (Blattodea: Termitidae) and Trigona spinipes F. (Hymenoptera: Apidae) were the most observed insects on trunks and leaves, respectively, of A. mangium plants fertilized with dehydrated sewage sludge. The A. mangium fertilization increases the populations of different insect and spider groups on this plant., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (© 2020 The Authors.)

Oncidium baueri Lindley is a South American orchid characterized by the production of numerous yellow-brown flowers, arranged in inflorescences that reach up to four meters long. Herein, the chemical study of the flowers led to the identification of compounds present in the floral oil, such as long chain acids and methyl esters, including the first report of the occurrence of rare compound byrsonic acid in orchids in the free form. In addition to this, steroids and the flavonoid glycosides acacetin-7- O -rutinoside, pectolinarin, oncibauerins A and B were identified in large amounts. Finally, the flower-insect visit by Trigona spinipes Fabricius bees was also studied. Video analyses of the process revealed that the bees spend a long time collecting material from the flower labellum callus. The chemical analyses of bees and flowers showed the presence of palmitic acid and stearic acid in both samples, leading to suspicious about the attraction of bees by flowers oils as floral rewards. Image 1 • The first chemical study of the flowers of the orchid Oncidium baueri is reported. • Byrsonic acid seems to be an important chemical marker for Oncidiinae orchids. • The visit of Trigona spinipes bees to O. baueri flowers was observed and chemically studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]