Frieseomelitta nigra
| Frieseomelitta nigra | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Apidae |
| Genus: | Frieseomelitta |
| Species: | F. nigra
|
| Binomial name | |
| Frieseomelitta nigra Cresson, 1879
| |
Frieseomelitta nigra, the black slender-stingless bee or buzzard stingless bee, is a species of stingless bee of the Meliponini tribe endemic to Mexico, Belize and possibly Guatemala.
Description, distribution and habitat
Like other bees in the Meliponini tribe, as well as its relatives in the Frieseomelitta genus, the buzzard bee lacks a stinger. It is around 6 mm long, has an entirely black body, and has dark wings with white tips.[1][2] It shares many characteristics with Frieseomelitta paupera, the latter even being considered a subspecies of Frieseomelitta nigra in countries such as Colombia and Trinidad and Tobago.[3][4]
Its distribution extends throughout the Mexican states of Sinaloa, Nayarit, Jalisco, Colima, Michoacán, State of Mexico, Morelos, Guerrero, Oaxaca, Veracruz, Chiapas, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatán and Quintana Roo, as well as Belize and possibly Guatemala, according to observations. It usually prefers warmer climates in ecosystems such as humid forest, dry forest, scrubland, temperate forest, cloud forest and wetlands. It usually builds nests in holes in trees or lampposts, walls and different types of substrate on the ground, which it usually covers with resin.[1][2][5]
Agriculturally important species targeted by the stingless vulture bee include nanche, lemon, coconut, and melon; among other species often pollinated by vulture bees are milk mulberry, Asteraceae, jujubes, and logwood.[6][7]
The buzzard bee is often used in meliponiculture. F. nigra honey typically has concentrations of between 577 and 607 mg of soluble protein per 100 g; between 162 and 168 mg of gallic acid per 100 g; it has a chelation capacity of 85% for copper ions, 47% for iron ions, and 94% for copper EDTA; the honey has a high scavenging capacity for OH radicals implicated in oxidative stress and related to heart and lung disease, cancer, Alzheimer's disease, and neurodegenerative diseases in humans.[7][8]
References
- ^ a b Vásquez-García, Adela; Sangerman-Jarquín, Dora Ma.; Schwentesius Rindermann, Rita (2022-02-21). "Caracterización de especies de abejas nativas y su relación biocultural en la Mixteca oaxaqueña" [Characterization of native bee species and their biocultural relationship in the Mixteca region of Oaxaca]. Revista mexicana de ciencias agrícolas (in Spanish). 12 (1). ISSN 2007-0934. Retrieved 2025-08-22.
- ^ a b Ramírez Freire, Liliana. "Trigona nigra" (in Spanish). EncicloVida. Retrieved 2025-08-22.
- ^ Brown, Elijah; O’Brien, Michael; Georges, Karla; Suepaul, Sharianne (2020). "Physical characteristics and antimicrobial properties of Apis mellifera, Frieseomelitta nigra and Melipona favosa bee honeys from apiaries in Trinidad and Tobago" (PDF). BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies. 20 (85): 2–9. doi:10.1186/s12906-020-2829-5. PMID 32178659. Retrieved 2025-08-22.
- ^ Torres, A.; Hoffman, W.; Lamprecht, I. (2009-03-01). "Thermal investigations of a nest of the stingless bee Trigona ( Frieseomelitta ) nigra paupera provancher in Colombia". Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry. 95 (3): 737–741. doi:10.1007/s10973-008-9466-4. Retrieved 2025-08-22.
- ^ Medina-Medina, Luis A.; González-Acereto, Jorge A. (2001-08-18). "GENERALIDADES SOBRE LAS PRINCIPALES ESPECIES DE ABEJAS SIN AGUIJÓN (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Meliponinae) QUE SE ENCUENTRAN EN YUCATÁN" [GENERALITIES ABOUT THE MAIN SPECIES OF STINGLESS BEES (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Meliponinae) FOUND IN YUCATAN]. XV Seminario Americano de Apicultura (in Spanish). Tepic, Nayarit, Mexico. Retrieved 2025-08-22.
- ^ Ayala, Ricardo (2016). Ortega Huerta, Miguel A.; Balcázar Lara, Manuel (eds.). "Abejas (Apoidea)". La Biodiversidad en Colima. Estudio de Estado (in Spanish). CONABIO. Retrieved 2025-08-22.
- ^ a b Sánchez-Chino, Xariss M.; Jiménez-Martínez, Cristian; Ramírez-Arriaga, Elia; Martínez-Herrera, Jorge; Corzo-Ríos, Luis Jorge; Godínez-García, Godinez (2019). "Actividad antioxidante y quelante de metales de las mieles de Melipona beecheii y Frieseomelitta nigra originarias de Tabasco, México" [Antioxidant and metal chelating activity of Melipona beecheii and Frieseomelitta nigra honeys originating from Tabasco, Mexico] (PDF). TIP Revista Especializada en Ciencias Químico-Biológicas (in Spanish). 22: 1–7. doi:10.22201/fesz.23958723e.2019.0.186. ISSN 2395-8723. Retrieved 2025-08-22.
- ^ Herrera Salazar, Juan Carlos (2021). Biodiversidad y ecología mexicana. Nuevos conocimientos y tecnologías. para los retos actuales [Mexican Biodiversity and Ecology: New Knowledge and Technologies for Current Challenges] (in Spanish). Durango, Mexico: Universidad Juárez del Estado de Durango (UJED). pp. 202–210. ISBN 978-607-503-237-5.