Biogeography of Neotropical stingless bees (Apidae: Meliponini)

Stingless bees comprise a tribe of corbiculate bees (Apidae: Meliponini) that are globally distributed in tropical regions, with 75% of the ~600 species only found in the Neotropics. They are of high cultural, economic, and ecological value as they are often used for honey production and are important pollinators. Their distributions have been historically influenced by indigenous meliponiculture and are currently impacted by wide-spread changes in land cover, including deforestation. Despite their importance, they are highly under-studied, making them difficult to protect. We provide detailed information about stingless bees' habitat use for conservation purposes. This is the first study to examine, for all species in the neotropics, their range of habitat use, biodiversity hotspots, overlap with different habitat types (land cover, canopy height, tree diversity/composition), and relationship between habitat use and functional traits. We assess whether regions of high endemicity and species richness are associated with specific habitat types, as well as to what degree body size, colony size, use in meliponiculture, extent of parasitism, and nesting type (tree, ground, etc.) predict habitat features where species are found. Based on our preliminary data, canopy height is predictive of species richness across Central and South America. Species richness is greatest in forests and regions with heavy cloud cover, and is poorest in regions with bare ground, flooded vegetation, or snow/ice. We predict that larger species with larger colonies will prefer colder climates, tree-nesting species will be associated with tall canopy height, and species used in meliponiculture are less associated with forests.