Notes on a primitive stingless bee, Trigona ( Nogueirapis ) mirandula

Abstract

A primitive stingless bee, Trigona (Nogueirapis) mirandula Cockerell, was studied in the following aspects: 1) historical background of the bee; 2) relationships of T. mirandula to T. butteli and the fossil form, T. silacea, and their general relations to the groups Partamona and Plebeia; 3) geographic distribution of the bee in Central America and Colombia; 4) The occurrence of color dimorphism in this bee: a ferruginous form, which was the only type known previously, and a melanic form, described for the first time in this paper; 5) description of the male and queen, which were unknown for the subgenus until the present; 6) a general survey of the ground nesting species of stingless bees and a description of the nest of T. mirandula; 7) the habitat of the bee in the Tropical Moist forest; and 8) the general behavior of the bee outside the nest.