Background:

Although the loss of Melipona beecheii colonies in meliponaries suggests insufficient availability of melliferous blooming plants, there is limited knowledge about the diversity and conditions of the surrounding vegetation.

Question:

What is the diversity, structure, and composition of the melliferous and non-melliferous vegetation surrounding meliponaries, and how does it affect the availability of food sources for bees?

Study site and dates:

The vegetation surrounding nine meliponaries, three in each political state of the Yucatán Peninsula encompassing the main vegetation types, was studied in 2022 and 2023.

Methods:

Four 150-meter-long transects with the point-centered quadrants method were traced in each meliponary to estimate plant species composition, the availability of melliferous and blooming plants (IVI), diversity parameters (Hill-numbers), tree density, and diameter per strata.

Results:

312 taxa, 250 genera, and 73 plant families were recorded. In five meliponaries, blooming melliferous plants accounted for less than 9 % of the IVI, with one meliponary having no blooming species. The highest diversity was found in a meliponary surrounded by semi-evergreen forest. The high stratum had a mean tree height of 5.5 (SD ± 2.9) meters and 3,390 (SD ± 2,702) trees/hectare across vegetation types. The tree diameter was lowest in meliponaries located in the semi-deciduous forest.

Conclusions:

The meliponaries are surrounded by young secondary vegetation with high density of small trees and predominance of the low stratum. We found a similar vegetation diversity among meliponaries and scarce blooming melliferous plants. Human activity seems to impact plant diversity and food availability for M. beecheii.

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