Meliponas bees in my backyard (Part II)
Let's meet another variety of melipon bees, also called pegones.
“Las abejas sin aguijón o meliponas son un grupo de insectos propios de las zonas tropicales y subtropicales, que desempeñan una importante función como polinizadores de la flora nativa. Antes de la llegada de los colonizadores, quienes introdujeron la abeja común africana (Apis mellifera), las abejas sin aguijón eran las únicas abejas que almacenaban miel dentro de colonias, y eran aprovechadas por culturas indígenas de América del Sur y Central, quienes utilizaban su miel, cera y polen.” (p. 7)
Por tanto, son insectos nativos de Mesoamérica, que eran ya conocidos y aprovechados por las culturas indígenas y fundamentalmente desarrollan un papel vital en la conservación de los ecosistemas del continente y tienen por característica principal, la ausencia de aguijón. Se estima que existen unas 400 especies de meliponas, y dentro de las más comunes se encuentran LOS PEGONES , cuyo nombre científico es Trigona spinipes. Aunque en los mapas de ubicación que se visualizan en internet, indican que sus hábitats están principalmente al Sureste del continente Sudamericano, abarcando Brasil, Argentina y Uruguay, en Venezuela son muy comunes, y en mi solar hay muchos de ellos; se las presento, por si no conocen a esta variedad de abeja melipona:
" Stingless bees or meliponas are a group of insects typical of tropical and subtropical areas, which play an important role as pollinators of native flora. Before the arrival of the colonizers, who introduced the common African bee (Apis mellifera), stingless bees were the only bees that stored honey within colonies, and were used by indigenous cultures of South and Central America, who used their honey, wax and pollen." (p. 7)
Therefore, they are native insects of Mesoamerica, which were already known and used by indigenous cultures and fundamentally play a vital role in the conservation of the continent's ecosystems and their main characteristic is the absence of a stinger. It is estimated that there are about 400 species of meliponas, and among the most common are THE PEGONES , whose scientific name is Trigona spinipes. Although in the location maps that are visualized on the internet, they indicate that their habitats are mainly to the Southeast of the South American continent, encompassing Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay, in Venezuela they are very common, and in my backyard there are many of them; I present them to you, in case you do not know this variety of melipona bee:
Although they are very peaceful, the defense mechanism of the pegones in general, is to get tangled in the hair or hair of the people or animals that approach them, and buzz very hard. They can also sting, but it is a harmless bite. They can also enter the ears and nose, hence care must be taken. On the other hand, they have a peculiarity, they collect excrement to help build their nests, although to be very honest, I have never seen such behavior in the pegones of my lot. The truth is that its honey is not recommended for human consumption. It is a common practice that many of the farmers who plant topochos for commercial purposes, remove the tip of the acorn, among other reasons, to avoid the presence of the pegones, because they supposedly stain the fruit, although the stains are minimal, due to the small bites that can be made. It is also said that they constitute a pest for passion fruit crops, since they pierce the flower bud before it blooms and their polonators, the bumblebees, can't come to do their work, reducing the productivity of the plantings; I cannot affirm this either, since I have not planted this plant on my backyard.
Let us remember that it is very important to respect, know, conserve and multiply bees in general, and especially all the meliponas, because they are basic in sustaining ecosystems. Here I end my post for today, I hope it was pleasant for all of you. Then I will follow this series of bees in my backyard. A big hug.
*Leonardo Baquero y Guillermo Stamatti. (2007). Cría y manejo de abejas sin aguijón. Ediciones del Subtrópico. Tucumán, Argentina.
Estas fotos son de mi autoría y fueron tomada con un teléfono Xiomi REDMI 8 A / These photos are my own and were taken with a Xiomi REDMI 8 A phone .
Los separadores utilizados, son cortesía de @eve66 quien comparte hermosos diseños que embellecen el maquetado de nuestros post. / The dividers used are courtesy of @eve66 who shares beautiful designs that embellish the layout of our post.
El diseño de portada incluido en esta publicación, han sido elaborado por mi persona con la aplicación CANVA / The cover design included in this publication has been made by me with the CANVA application.
En caso de que se requiera emplear el contenido o imágenes de este post y de mis otras publicaciones, agradecería se hiciera referencia a mi autoría (Fabiola Martínez) y se citara el link correspondiente. Gracias. / In the event that it is required to use the content or images of this post and my other publications, I would be grateful if my authorship (Fabiola Martínez) was made and the corresponding link was cited. Thank you.