MELISSOPALYNOLOGY FOR STINGLESS BEES (APIDAE, MELIPONINAE) FROM VENEZUELA

Pollen spectra were obtained for honey samples taken from the nests of 48 Melipona spp. and 20 other stingless bee species at 23 locations in Venezuela from 1987 to 1989. The order of abundance for dominant pollens in Melipona spp. honeys was: Mimosa pudica gr., Scrophulariaceae, Machaerium gr., Avicennia, Myrtaceae, Mimosa scabrella gr., Cassia, Myrcia, Piper, Philoxerus, Xanthoxylum, Alternanthera and Astragalus. Pollens of Trema, Triumfetta, Avicennia, Palmae, Fagara, Hyptis gr., Rhamnaceae, Xanthoxylum and Acalypha were dominant in the non-Melipona samples. The abundance of dominant pollens from nectarless plants, such as Mimosa pudica gr., Mimosa scabrella gr., Alternanthera, Piper and Trema, considerably reduces the list of major nectar sources found for the stingless bees studied; their presence could be due to mixing of the honey with pollen pots inside the nest.