Plebeia remota

Plebeia remota is a species of stingless bee that is in the family Apidae and tribe Meliponini. Bees of the species are normally found in a few states in southern Brazil and their nests can be found in tree cavities. Depending on the region, P. remota may have a different morphology and exhibit different behaviors. The bee's diet consists of nectar and pollen that are collected intensely from a few sources. Researchers have conducted a multitude of studies analyzing the changes that occur in the colony during reproductive diapause and what happens during the provisioning and oviposition process or POP. P. remota is a member of the order Hymenoptera, which is the insect order comprising bees, wasps and ants. Within Hymenoptera, it belongs to the family Apidae. This bee belongs in the tribe Meliponini. The greatest number of Meliponini species reside in the Neotropics where there are about 300 species known. Within the genus Plebeia, there are about 30 species described. Like the other species in Meliponini, P. remota is a stingless bee. P. remota is a small bee, roughly about 3–6 mm in length. It shows characteristics of bees in the genus Plebeia which include whitish or yellow stripes on the face and thorax. Like other species in Meliponini, it exhibits a trigoniform body structure, sparse hair and reduced wing venation. The nests of P. remota normally consist of a small, propolis entrance that is only as large as the head of the worker bee, a pile of 8-10 horizontal combs away from the entrance, honey pots and pollen pots that are located close to the combs and entrance respectively, and sites for resin storage and waste materials. The waste materials are disposed of during the daytime. The distribution range of P. remota is small compared to other bee species. They are normally found in southern Brazil in the states of Minas Gerais, São Paulo, Paraná, Santa Catarina, and Rio Grande do Sul. The nests of P. remota are usually found in tree cavities; however, finding them in nature is difficult since the size of the entrance is very small. The nests of P. remota can house up to 5,000 bees. In one study it was shown that two populations of P. remota, one from Cunha in São Paulo state (SP) and the other from Prudentópolis in Paraná state (PR), had several differences in both morphology and behavior. Francisco and his colleagues believe that these differences are caused by the fact that the climate in SP and PR are very distinct. These differences may have caused the selection of different phenotypic characteristics of P. remota in each region. They observed that colonies from Cunha construct an extra layer of cerumen, or wax, in their nests in the shape of a roof during the reproductive period and that the duration of their diapause is shorter. It has also been observed that the external morphology of the queen's scutellum, the composition of the Dufour's gland secretions of queens and workers, the flight activity of foragers and the regulation of the nest temperature are different between these two populations. What is even more interesting is that during this study that lasted a decade, the two populations were kept in the same place that allowed for genes to be exchanged easily. However, there was no gene flow between the colonies and the high rates of classification indicated that there was no hybridization between the two groups and they maintained their original characteristics. The majority of the time P. remota queens produce few young virgin queens, also known as gynes, a year. As such, the number of new colonies formed is relatively small. The gynes that live after emerging from their cells have the chance to form their own swarm and then leave the nest. Another equally viable option is that the gynes would just take over the nest once the current queen dies. The gynes that form their own colonies do not go far from where they were born; thus, there tend to be clusters of nests where the individuals in that area are related to each other. Compared with other species of stingless bees such as Melipona quadrifasciata and Tetragonisca angustula, P. remota shows incredibly efficient hygienic behavior in response to dead broods. Within a 24-hour period, P. remota remove an average of 69.6% of the dead brood, and by 48 hours 96.4% of the dead brood is removed. This is more efficient than M. quadrifasciata and T. angustula, which in 72 hours only removed 1% and 30% of the dead brood, respectively. The P. remota bee's efficient hygienic behavior shows that they have a way to resist diseases.