Diversity of Stingless Bees (Apidae: Meliponini) in Thong Pha Phum District, Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand

Authors

  • Yuvarin Boontop Department of Entomology, Facalty of Agriculture, Kasetsart University, Bangkok 10900, Thailand.
  • Savitree Malaipan Department of Entomology, Facalty of Agriculture, Kasetsart University, Bangkok 10900, Thailand.
  • Kosol Chareansom Department of Entomology, Facalty of Agriculture, Kasetsart University, Bangkok 10900, Thailand.
  • Decha Wiwatwittaya Department of Forest Biology, Faculty of Forestry, Kasetsart University, Bangkok 10900, Thailand.

Keywords:

stingless bees, honey-bait trap, species abundance, diversity indices, forest types

Abstract

Stingless bees were observed in four types of undisturbed forest: dry dipterocarp forest (DDF), upper mixed deciduous forest (UMDF), lower mixed deciduous forest (LMDF) and dry evergreen forest (DEF) during April 2004 to March 2005 to determine the diversity and abundance of stingless bees. Monthly sampling was performed using honey-bait traps. Diversity was analysed using the Shannon-Weiner diversity index. Species abundance was computed for each forest type. Three genera and eleven species (Trigona ventralis, T. collina, T. sirindhornae, T. terminata, T. apicalis, T. thoracica, T. canifrons, T. fuscobalteata, T. melina, Pariotrigona pendleburyi and Lisotrigona cacciae) were recorded; Trigona ventralis, T. sirindhornae, T. collina and T. terminata were the most abundant. Species diversity indices ranged from 0.63 (DDF) to 0.86 (LMDF). Species richness and abundance data indicated the following clustering of forest types based on the stingless bee fauna: (((LMDF+UMDF) + DDF) + DEF). Stingless bees were most abundant during cooler, drier months and in seasons and forest types where the percentage of light transmittance was the greatest.

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Published

2008-09-30

How to Cite

Yuvarin Boontop, Savitree Malaipan, Kosol Chareansom, and Decha Wiwatwittaya. 2008. “Diversity of Stingless Bees (Apidae: Meliponini) in Thong Pha Phum District, Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand”. Agriculture and Natural Resources 42 (3). Bangkok, Thailand:444-56. https://li01.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/anres/article/view/244472.

Issue

Vol. 42 No. 3 (2008): July-September

Section

Research Article

License

online 2452-316X print 2468-1458/Copyright © 2022. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/),
production and hosting by Kasetsart University of Research and Development Institute on behalf of Kasetsart University.