Abstract            Volume:9  Issue-1  Year-2021         Original Research Articles

Online ISSN : 2347 - 3215 Issues : 12 per year Publisher : Excellent Publishers Email : editorijcret@gmail.com

Stingless bees are highly social insects which populated the tropical earth 65 million years ago longer than honey bees. They are limited to tropics and subtropics lacking venom apparatus and cannot sting. Impacts of anthropogenic influences on honey bees were already reported. Recent studies also showed that the nesting behaviour of Trigona (Tetragonula) iridipennis Smith in natural habitat also vary due to interaction, pheromones and environmental stimulus. Trigona iridipennis Smith shows great diversity in plant selection for dietary as well as resin sources. The shift towards ornamental plants for foraging may be an adaptation evolved in response to human modification of the environment. The bees collect resin from a variety of sources for building nest, its maintenance and also for defence. Bee traffic is found to be related to time, season, and strength of the colony. The adult black soldier fly, H. illucens fly which thrived on decaying organic matter occasionally found entry into the stingless bee hives through the entrance tube, especially on weak colonies. The adult fly did not feed on the brood, pollen and honey pots but the larval stage of the pest damaged the colonies. The nitidulid beetle Aethina sp. damaged brood cells, pollen and honey pots. The study also highlights the various food sources of Trigona iridipennis Smith in Kerala which can be further explored for flourishing meliponiculture.

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