Evidence of at least two evolutionary lineages in Melipona subnitida (Apidae, Meliponini) suggested by mtDNA variability and geometric morphometrics of forewings.

Melipona subnitida, a tropical stingless bee, is an endemic species of the Brazilian northeast and exhibits great potential for honey and pollen production in addition to its role as one of the main pollinators of the Caatinga biome. To understand the genetic structure and better assist in the conservation of this species, we characterized the population variability of M. subnitida using geometric morphometrics of the forewing and cytochrome c oxidase I gene fragment sequencing. We collected workers from six localities in the northernmost distribution. Both methodologies indicated that the variability among the sampled populations is related both to the environment in which samples were collected and the geographical distance between the sampling sites, indicating that differentiation among the populations is due to the existence of at least evolutionary lineages. Molecular clock data suggest that this differentiation may have begun in the middle Pleistocene, approximately 396 kya. The conservation of all evolutionary lineages is important since they can present differential resistance to environmental changes, as resistance to drought and diseases.

Nosema ceranae has been present in Brazil for more than three decades infecting Africanized honey bees.

Until the mid-1990s, the only microsporidium known to infect bees of the genus Apis was Nosema apis. A second species, Nosema ceranae, was first identified in 1996 from Asian honey bees; it is postulated that this parasite was transmitted from the Asian honey bee, Apis cerana, to the European honey bee, Apis mellifera. Currently, N. ceranae is found on all continents and has often been associated with honey bee colony collapse and other reports of high bee losses. Samples of Africanized drones collected in 1979, preserved in alcohol, were analyzed by light microscopy to count spores and were subjected to DNA extraction, after which duplex PCR was conducted. All molecular analyses (triplicate) indicated that the drones were infected with both N. ceranae and N. apis. PCR products were sequenced and matched to sequences reported in the GenBank (Acc. Nos. JQ639316.1 and JQ639301.1). The venation pattern of the wings of these males was compared to those of the current population living in the same area and with the pattern of drones collected in 1968 from Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil, from a location close to where African swarms first escaped in 1956. The morphometric results indicated that the population collected in 1979 was significantly different from the current living population, confirming its antiquity. Considering that the use of molecular tools for identifying Nosema species is relatively recent, it is possible that previous reports of infections (which used only light microscopy, without ultrastructural analysis) wrongly identified N. ceranae as N. apis. Although we can conclude that N. ceranae has been affecting Africanized honeybees in Brazil for at least 34 years, the impact of this pathogen remains unclear.

Intra-populational variability of Nannotrigona testaceicornis Lepeletier, 1836 (Hymenoptera, Meliponini) using relative warp analysis / Variabilidade intra-populacional em Nannotrigona testaceicornis Lepeletier, 1836 (Hymenoptera, Meliponini) usando análise de deformações relativas

Due to the loss of biodiversity that occurs nowadays, the development of tools that allow us to characterize this biodiversity is of great importance. The recent developed relative warps analysis is very useful at this point. We characterized a population of Nannotrigona testaceicornis collected in different areas of Uberlândia using the relative warps analysis of the forewings. The two subpopulations of the urban environment were closer to each other than the one collected in a natural area outside the city. This greater proximity and diversification in relation to the natural área subpopulation is possibly due to inbreeding, that is enhanced by the smaller amount of natural food sources. The geometric morphometric of forewings showed to be a very powerful and informative tool to assess biodiversity within a population.

Devido aos recentes alarmes causados pela perda de biodiversidade, o uso de ferramentas que permitam a caracterização desta biodiversidade é de grande importância. As técnicas de análises de deformações relativas têm se mostrado muito úteis neste ponto. Aqui, nós caracterizamos, por análises de deformações relativas das asas anteriores, uma população de Nannotrigona testaceicornis coletada em diferentes áreas de Uberlândia. As duas subpopulações de ambientes urbanos eram mais parecidas entre si do que quando comparadas com a subpopulação coletada em uma área de mata natural. Esta maior proximidade se deve possivelmente ao endocruzamento e à menor disponibilidade de alimento. A morfometria geométrica das asas anteriores se mostra ainda uma ferramenta muito útil e informativa para avaliação de biodiversidade.