The Effect of Colony Translocation on Meliponaries of Melipona scutellaris (L.) (Hymenoptera: Apidae) from Northeastern Brazil by Morphogeometric Analysis

Abstract

This study investigated the morphometric variation in rational hive boxes of Melipona scutellaris stingless bees from five states, inserted into the natural range of species occurrence in northeastern Brazil. Cluster analysis (UPGMA) revealed three distinct groups by determining the cutoff point. Multivariate analysis was performed using multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and canonical variate analysis (CVA) for shape. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to assess differences in centroid size. The results showed population divergence between localities limited by geographical barriers or great distances, corroborating previous observations by UPGMA. Variation between inter-state colonies was higher than intra-state colonies and, in most cases, Geometric Morphometrics was effective in identifying the origin of colonies transported to other states, as observed in the cross-validation analysis that showed more than 70% of classification accuracy. Geometric Morphometrics can be used to evaluate the introduction of colonies within the kindred meliponary. Natural populations of Melipona scutellaris exhibit significant variation, which has important implications for meliponiculture and conservation strategies for this endangered species.