Stingless bees (Hymenoptera: Meliponini) are among the most important pollinators of tropical forests. Peru is considered a hotspot of biodiversity of Meliponini, but many areas of this country (e.g., Peruvian Amazon) remain unexplored. We aimed to produce a first inventory of stingless bee species dwelling in humid and seasonally dry forests of northern Peru by combining traditional (morphologically-based) taxonomy and DNA barcoding. Specimens were collected in 2020 at five sites located in San Martin and Piura regions. We identified 12 genera of Meliponini. Among those, Trigona and Plebeia were the most abundant (45.9% and 12.8% respectively), whereas Nannotrigona and Scaura were the least represented ones (2.3%). We assigned a reliable species identification to about 30% of specimens (Trigona amazonensis, T. muzoensis, T. williana, Partamona testacea, Scaura tenuis, Tetragona goettei, and Tetragonisca angustula). Yet, more than a half of the specimens received a provisional identification (e.g., Geotrigona cf. fulvohirta, T. cf. amalthea, T. cf. fuscipennis, T. cf. hypogea, Melipona cf. cramptoni, Partamona cf. epiphytophila, Ptilotrigona cf. perenae, Scaura cf. latitarsis, Tetragona cf. clavipes, Trigonisca cf. atomaria). We also highlighted an extensive polyphyly that affected a number of currently recognized species (e.g., T. fulviventris, T. guianae, Plebeia franki, P. frontalis, M. eburnea, M. illota), whose members were split into various clades. Finally, 16% of individuals failed to be identified at the species level (Trigona sp. 1, T. sp. 2, Nannotrigona sp., Partamona sp., Scaptotrigona sp. 1, S. sp. 2, Trigonisca sp. 1, and Trigonisca sp. 2). We discuss our findings according to the current faunistic and biogeographic knowledge of Meliponini in Peru and the Neotropical region. We also remark on the importance of conducting a taxonomic revision of stingless bees and improving both their morphology-based identification keys and BOLD repository. Finally, we claim that integrative taxonomy shall be strongly implemented to truly assess the biodiversity of Neotropical stingless bees, allowing conserving these important pollinators and the associated traditional meliponiculture in an effective manner.

Several studies have highlighted the global decline of pollinator insects, with Lepidoptera being particularly affected in large parts of Europe in recent decades. Given the important biogeographic and conservation implications from faunal studies on the large Mediterranean islands, we focused on assessing butterfly diversity within the Culuccia Peninsula in north-eastern Sardinia (Italy). This area, characterized by an environmental mosaic largely untouched by human activities over the last century, is still unknown in terms of flora and fauna. For this reason, we compiled the first butterfly checklist of the Culuccia Peninsula and produced a detailed land cover map of the area to investigate the influence of the land use classes on Lepidoptera communities across seasons. The butterflies were sampled in five sessions from April to October 2022, along seven fixed transects selected to cover land use classes representative of natural and human-exploited areas for agriculture and grazing. Despite the small size of the study area, 23 of the 56 species present in Sardinia were recorded. The butterfly communities presented high dissimilarity across the different land use classes, which was driven primarily by species turnover. Significant differences in Lepidoptera diversity were observed between land cover classes with sparse vegetation and dense maquis, with higher species richness observed in the former. Shrub-dominated land use classes were associated with cooler butterfly communities compared to open environments, suggesting that they could serve as refugia in response to predicted climate change.

Wild bees are essential pollinators of both native and cultivated plants, but their populations are declining worldwide. Conservation efforts are hindered by insufficient data, especially in the Mediterranean basin, which hosts some of the most diverse pollinator communities in the world. Particularly in Sardinia, the second largest island in the Mediterranean, information on the bee fauna is still limited. The aim of this work was to provide the first checklist of ApoideaAnthophila from an unexplored peninsula in north-eastern Sardinia (Italy), by combining traditional (morphologically-based) taxonomy and DNA barcoding. In addition, records of flower visits are provided and shown in a visitor network to enrich the scarce data on the associations between wild bees and plants in the Mediterranean Region. Bees were sampled from April to October 2022–2023 with two Malaise traps and nets. DNA was extracted to amplify sequences of the mitochondrial gene Cyotochrome oxydase I, which were then compared with those in BOLD using the identification tool and by constructing neighbor-joining phylogenetic trees. Seventy-six different species belonging to 29 genera and six families were collected and identified. A total of 212 COI sequences were obtained for 61 different species, many of which had not yet been sequenced from Italian populations. Five of the collected taxa are Sardo-Corsican endemics, whereas six species are newly recorded from Sardinia. Finally, we highlight potential taxonomic issues and new flower visit records, emphasizing the need for further research to better understand the taxonomy and ecology of this diverse group of insects toward their conservation.

The honeys from stingless bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Meliponini) are recognized for their medicinal properties. They are commonly used by many indigenous groups around the world. However, in Peru stingless beekeeping is practiced in an artisanal way and the honeys remain products whose qualities are still little studied. The objective of this work was to analyze physicochemical characteristics and microbiological quality of honeys produced by Scaptotrigona polysticta Moure, Melipona illota Cockerell and Tetragonisca angustula Latreille in apiaries of department of San Martin, Peru. In June and November 2019, 30 honey samples were collected from 24 colonies housed in two apiaries in the towns of Tarapoto and Chasuta. Significant differences (p 10 CFU / mL) according Peruvian sanitary norm № 071-Minsa/Digesa-V.01, in 30 and 50% of the samples of S. polysticta and T. angustula, respectively. These results contribute to the knowledge of the stingless bee honeys of Peru providing important references for the quality standard setting process and the advancement of stingless beekeeping.

Stingless bees (Hymenoptera, Meliponini) are a large and diverse group including 59 extant groups, representing the main pollinators of Amazon forests. Among those, Trigona is one of the largest endemic genera of Neotropical Meliponini. In this work, we updated the molecular phylogeny of Trigona proposed by Rasmussen and Camargo (2008), including data from 59 new specimens collected in 2020 in the forests of northern Peru, through a multigene phylogenetic approach combining sequences from four gene fragments (16S, ArgK, EF-1a, opsin). Our results confirmed the monophyly of Trigona and of all proposed subgenera, except Aphaneura. In addition, most Trigona species-groups resulted monophyletic but the ‘spinipes’ and ‘pallens’ groups appeared paraphyletic and polyphyletic, respectively. Moreover, the cohesion of the “fulviventris” species group was hindered by the inclusion of T. williana (previously included in the “pallens” group) within this clade. Finally, we provided further evidence for a subdivision into two (geographically) distinct clades within T. guianae in northern Peruvian Amazon, which highlighted the importance of Neotropical biogeographical barriers in Meliponini divergence and evolution. Finally, to avoid misidentifications of Trigona specimens, the need for a robust taxonomic revision based on a cladistic approach of the whole genus is discussed.