Not long ago Eugene Hunn suggested using a combination of cognitive, linguistic, ecological and evolutionary theories in order to account for the dynamic character of ethnoecology in the study of folk classification systems. In this way he intended to question certain homogeneity in folk classifications models and deepen in the analysis and interpretation of variability in folk classifications. This paper studies how a rural culturally mixed population of the Atlantic Forest of Misiones (Argentina) classified honey-producing stingless bees according to the linguistic, cognitive and ecological dimensions of folk classification. We also analyze the socio-ecological meaning of binomialization in naming and the meaning of general local variability in the appointment of stingless bees. We used three different approaches: the classical approach developed by Brent Berlin which relies heavily on linguistic criteria, the approach developed by Eleonor Rosch which relies on psychological (cognitive) principles of categorization and finally we have captured the ecological dimension of folk classification in local narratives. For the second approximation, we developed ways of measuring the degree of prototypicality based on a total of 107 comparisons of the type “X is similar to Y” identified in personal narratives. Various logical and grouping strategies coexist and were identified as: graded of lateral linkage, hierarchical and functional. Similarity judgments among folk taxa resulted in an implicit logic of classification graded according to taxa’s prototypicality. While there is a high agreement on naming stingless bees with monomial names, a considerable number of underrepresented binomial names and lack of names were observed. Two possible explanations about reported local naming variability are presented. We support the multidimensionality of folk classification systems. This confirms the specificity of local classification systems but also reflects the use of grouping strategies and mechanisms commonly observed in other cultural groups, such as the use of similarity judgments between more or less prototypical organisms. Also we support the idea that alternative naming results from a process of fragmentation of knowledge or incomplete transmission of knowledge. These processes lean on the facts that culturally based knowledge, on the one hand, and biologic knowledge of nature on the other, can be acquired through different learning pathways.

Brazilian beekeepers have experienced massive colony losses in recent years. Possible causes include bee pests and diseases, although there have been few relevant studies in the country and no official data are available. The aim of this work was to assess, from a beekeeper's perspective, the incidence of pests and diseases in colonies, and their impact on the decline of bee populations in Brazil. The research used two online questionnaires that included disease symptoms to facilitate participant identification of diseases. A total of 674 valid responses were obtained from beekeepers of Apis mellifera (49% of the total) and stingless bees (51%), distributed among 24 of the 27 Brazilian states. Most beekeepers observed pests (average 78.1%) and disease symptoms (65.5%) in their colonies. Based on beekeepers' responses, pests and diseases affect beehive losses in Brazil. Colony loss percentage for A. mellifera was higher in apiaries with ants (19.8% of colony losses) and wasps (46.7%) than in those without pests (p < 0.001). While for stingless bees, meliponaries with robber bees (15.8% of colony losses), ants (14.7%), and phorid flies (12.5%) had higher colony losses than those without pests (p < 0.001). Apiaries and meliponaries with worker bee deaths had higher losses than those without symptoms. The results also indicate that monitoring can reduce colony losses in apiaries and meliponaries that have some kind of pests and diseases. Using a beekeeper perspective, this study provides information about the impact that pests and pathogens have on bee losses that can be used to guide improved management practices.

Background: Human beings employ a combination of morphological, sensorial, utilitarian, cultural and ecological characters when they identify and classify organisms. Ethnotaxonomy has provided a store of information about the characters cultures employ when they identify and classify a vast diversity of taxonomic groups. Nevertheless, some more research is needed to provide a comparison of the characters employed in the description of taxons, and an analysis of the extent to which those descriptors are represented. Stingless bees constitute a diverse group of social insects that have been widely studied from an ethnobiological perspective due to their utilitarian and cultural importance. The objective of this study is to identify the elements local people consider when characterizing stingless bees, and how important these elements are in the study of local classifications. Methods The methodology used involves semi-structured interviews and trips with the informants to rural areas. Locally known ethnospecies are characterized, descriptive traits and salient criteria used in those characterizations are identified, and the frequency of reference of descriptive traits and salient criteria are estimated. Besides, the descriptive traits used for each ethnospecies are compared, and the contribution of the characterizations as a heuristic strategy in the study of folk classification systems is analyzed. Results The use of 19 biological descriptors (grouped according to 4 salient criteria) and of comparisons among ethnospecies was found. Results suggest the existence of group and specific descriptors. Researchers identified which ethnospecies are considered similar, how less important traits contribute to descriptions, the relation between specific descriptors and ethnospecies, the presence of cognitive prototypes, and the most relevant salient properties from the emic perspective. Conclusions The estimated importance of attributes descriptors allowed us to identify the spectrum of salient properties relevant from the emic perspective to characterize the stingless bees. In this sense, the analysis proposed here is useful to study folk taxonomy in culturally heterogeneous groups or multicultural regions, where the linguistic elements usually employed cannot be applied. Resumen Antecedentes: Los seres humanos, al identificar y clasificar a los organismos emplean una combinación de características morfológicas, sensoriales, utilitarias, culturales y ecológicas. Entre los aportes generados desde la etnotaxonomía, se ha obtenido información sobre los caracteres utilizados para identificar y clasificar una gran diversidad de grupos taxonómicos. Sin embargo, aún faltan trabajos donde se comparen los caracteres utilizados en las descripciones de taxones y se analice en qué medida estos descriptores se encuentran representados. Las abejas sin aguijón conforman un diverso grupo de insectos sociales que han sido estudiadas desde la perspectiva etnobiológica, dada su importancia utilitaria y cultural. Los interrogantes que guían este trabajo son ¿Qué elementos tienen en cuenta los pobladores para caracterizar a las abejas sin aguijón? y ¿Qué importancia revisten los mismos en el estudio de las clasificaciones locales? Métodos Se realizaron entrevistas semiestructuradas y recorridos en áreas rurales con los informantes. Se caracterizan a las etnoespecies conocidas localmente; se identifican los atributos descriptores y los criterios emergentes utilizados para dichas caracterizaciones; y se estima la frecuencia de citas de los atributos descriptores y criterios emergentes. Por otra parte, se comparan los atributos descriptores empleados para cada etnoespecie y se analiza el aporte de las caracterizaciones como estrategia heurística en el estudio de los sistemas de clasificación folclóricos. Resultados Se halló el empleo de 19 descriptores biológicos (que fueron agrupados en 4 criterios emergentes) y de comparaciones entre etnoespecies. Los resultados sugieren la existencia de descriptores de grupo y descriptores específicos. Se identificaron cuales etnoespecies son consideradas similares, cómo contribuyen a las descripciones los atributos de menor peso, la relación entre los descriptores específicos y las etnoespecies, la presencia de prototipos cognitivos, así como las propiedades emergentes más relevantes desde la perspectiva émica. Conclusiones La importancia estimada de los atributos descriptores nos ha permitido identificar el espectro de propiedades emergentes que son relevantes desde la perspectiva emic para caracterizar las abejas sin aguijón. En este sentido el análisis aquí propuesto es de utilidad para estudiar taxonomías folclóricas en grupos heterogéneos culturalmente o en regiones pluriculturales, donde los elementos lingüísticos usualmente empleados no son aplicables.

Our research involves of how Paraguayan migrants who are living in Misiones, Argentina, manage medicinal plants in home gardens, and how this practice can be related to the landscape. We examine the relationship between the richness of home garden medicinal plants and landscape variables (e.g., distance to the forest) by applying PLS analysis, which combines principal component analysis with linear regression. We surveyed 60 home gardens localized in a rural area, and we characterized the surrounding landscape with geospatial tools. Paraguayans’ home gardens are extremely diverse sites (total of 136 medicinal species), where both native (82) and introduced species (50) are managed. People who live close to the native forest or mixed use areas (e.g., farms, secondary vegetation) tend to possess less native plants in their gardens because they are available nearby. While gardeners, who live in proximity to tree crops (e.g., pine plantations), have reduced access to wild medicinal resources; therefore, their effort is concentrated on maintaining native plants. These results reflect a relationship between accessibility to medicinal plants in the landscape and the management practices in the home gardens, a neglected driver in explaining the richness and composition of the medicinal plants in home gardens so far. Thus, we contributed evidence in support of the environmental scarcity compensation hypothesis. Finally, our study supports the idea that home gardens appear to function as a springboard for plant domestication.