Identification of the pollinic contribution of Euterpe precatoriain meliponas bee hives in Santa Rosa de Maravilla, Ixiamas

Abstract

The Bolivian Amazon currently presents several challenges, one of the most critical is deforestation, with fires caused, driven by activities such as agricultural and livestock expansion, which disturb ecosystems. For this reason, the present study seeks to revalue the forest through the analysis of the functions performed by pollinators (native bees), where the pollen collected from hives of stingless bees (meliponas) was evaluated with the objective of determining the presence of asaí pollen (Euterpe precatoria). The pollen collected from six species of meliponabees, from the community of Santa Rosa de Maravilla in the Municipality of Ixiamas, was studied using the palynological analysis method to identify and quantify the pollen grains present in the samples; where, the results indicate a dominance of Trigona sp. in the pollen pots, with an average of 104 grains per sample, followed by Melipona rufiventriswith 52 grains, representing 66% and 33% of the samples collected respectively, revealing the importance of meliponas in their pollination. These results induce the importance of native bees in the pollination of E. precatoriawith the species Trigona sp. and Melipona rufiventris, in this way, revalue the environmental and productive functions that the mentioned species fulfill in the production of acaí fruits, with future studies being expanded to contribute to the production and conservation of acaí in Bolivia.