Food resource partitioning of stingless bees; Trigona apicalis Smith, 1857, Trigana collina Smith, 1857 and Trigona fimbriata Smith, 1857 (Apidae, Meliponinae) in a mixed deciduous forest

Abstract

Food resource partitioning of three species of stingless bees; Trigona apicalis Smith, 1857, T. collina Smith, 1857 and T. fimbriata Smith, 1857 at Phitsanulok Wildlife Conservation Devolopment and Extension Station were investigated from October 2003 to February 2005. The comparison study among T. apicalis, T. collina and T. fimbriata found different foraging times from food resources. Morphological study to examine the relationship between body size and foraging appendages among these species revealed significant differences in all characteristics (p<0.05). The results of food resource partitioning correlated with the competition theory. The three species appeared to avoid competition by performing a sign of coexistence in the same habitat possessing limited resources.

Keywords

• food resource partitioning
• stingless bees
• Trigona apicalis
• Trigona collina
• Trigona fimbriata