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The species Melipona rufiventris Lepeletier, 1836 is a Brazilian native stingless bee that is part of a species complex known as the &lsquo, rufiventris group&rsquo, making it difficult to distinguish between the different species. Populations in this group are facing a severe decline, leading to the risk of local extinction, and therefore, their conservation should be treated as a major concern. This study describes the first set of tri- and tetranucleotide microsatellite markers, using next-generation sequencing technology for use in the identification of genetic diversity and population structure in the &lsquo, A total of 16 microsatellite loci displayed polymorphism. Analysis of the whole data set (n = 50) detected 63 alleles in all loci, ranging from 2 to 7 with a mean of 3.9 alleles/locus. A genetic diversity analysis revealed high values for population differentiation estimates (FST = 0.252, RST = 0.317, and DEST = 0.284) between the Atlantic Forest, Cerrado, and Caatinga biomes. An additional evidence for genetic divergence among populations was also found in the &rsquo, these should be treated as separate conservation units or even as separate species. These microsatellite markers have demonstrated a strong potential for assessing population discrimination in this threatened stingless bee group.

Melipona quadrifasciata is a stingless bee widely found throughout the Brazilian territory, with two recognized subspecies, M. quadrifasciata anthidioides, that exhibits interrupted metasomal stripes, and M. quadrifasciata quadrifasciata, with continuous metasomal stripes. This study aimed to estimate the genetic variability of these subspecies. For this purpose, 127 colonies from 15 Brazilian localities were analyzed, using nine species-specific microsatellite primers. At these loci, the number of alleles ranged from three to 15 (mean: 7.2), and the observed heterozygosity (Ho) ranged from 0.03-0.21, while the expected heterozygosity (He) ranged from 0.23-0.47. The genetic distances among populations ranged from 0.03-0.45. The F ST multilocus value (0.23) indicated that the populations sampled were structured, and the clustering analysis showed the formation of two subgroups and two more distant populations. The first group contained the subspecies M. quadrifasciata quadrifasciata, and the other, the subspecies M. quadrifasciata anthidioides and the two M. quadrifasciata populations with continuous metasomal stripes from northern Minas Gerais. These results confirmed that the yellow metasomal stripes alone are not a good means for correctly identifying the different subspecies of M. quadrifasciata.

The stingless bee Melipona capixaba Moure and Camargo, 1994 is endemic to the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Its occurrence is restricted to highlands in the Espirito Santo State, and it has possibly the smallest known geographic distribution among the cataloged stingless bees. It is therefore considered to be an endangered species. Perhaps because of its small area of occurrence, or because it was only identified two decades ago, little is known about the biology of this species, its current geographic distribution, or its actual preservation status. Here, we present the results from the largest sampling of M. capixaba conducted in its natural habitat. We developed a distribution map by using a geographic information system. Our data indicate that M. capixaba is found in the municipalities of Espirito Santo State at altitudes between 800 m and 1,200 m; with annual average temperatures around 18–23°C; precipitation more than 1,200 mm per year; and vegetation cover-type Mountain Dense Ombrophylous Forest, restricted to an area of approximately 3,450 km 2 . We observed colonies both in their natural habitat and under conditions of ex situ maintenance, and identified the key challenges and prospects for the conservation of this endangered bee.

International audience; Melipona scutellaris is an important pollinator in natural and cultured areas from northeastern Brazil. Therefore, the goal of this work was to investigate the genetic diversity and population structure of M. scutellaris within its Bahia range, relating putative geographical influences on population dynamics. A total of 111 colonies from 13 municipalities in Bahia from sea level up to 1,011 m of altitude were sampled. Five species-specific codominant (microsatellites) and ten dominant (ISSR) primers were amplified, yielding from 2 to 13 alleles and 94 bands, respectively. The mean genetic diversity (He) was 0.50 for microsatellites and 0.33 for ISSR markers. AMOVA revealed that most of genetic variation is found within localities (82.6 % for microsatellites and 73.6 % for ISSR), and UPGMA and Bayesian analysis revealed the formation of two genetic groups related to altitude. Therefore, conservation strategies should take altitude variation into consideration to assure the genetic integrity of M. scutellaris.