Neotropical stingless bees display a strong response in cold tolerance with changes in elevation.

Tropical pollinators are expected to experience substantial effects due to climate change, but aspects of their thermal biology remain largely unknown. We investigated the thermal tolerance of stingless honey-making bees, the most ecologically, economically and culturally important group of tropical pollinators. We assessed changes in the lower (CTMin) and upper (CTMax) critical thermal limits of 17 species (12 genera) at two elevations (200 and 1500 m) in the Colombian Andes. In addition, we examined the influence of body size (intertegular distance, ITD), hairiness (thoracic hair length) and coloration (lightness value) on bees' thermal tolerance. Because stingless beekeepers often relocate their colonies across the altitudinal gradient, as an initial attempt to explore potential social responses to climatic variability, we also tracked for several weeks brood temperature and humidity in nests of three species at both elevations. We found that CTMin decreased with elevation while CTMax was similar between elevations. CTMin and CTMax increased (low cold tolerance and high heat tolerance) with increasing ITD, hair length and lightness value, but these relationships were weak and explained at most 10% of the variance. Neither CTMin nor CTMax displayed significant phylogenetic signal. Brood nest temperature tracked ambient diel variations more closely in the low-elevation site, but it was constant and higher at the high-elevation site. In contrast, brood nest humidity was uniform throughout the day regardless of elevation. The stronger response in CTMin, and a similar CTMax between elevations, follows a pattern of variation documented across a wide range of taxa that is commonly known as the Brett's heat-invariant hypothesis. Our results indicate differential thermal sensitivities and potential thermal adaptations to local climate, which support ongoing conservation policies to restrict the long-distance relocations of colonies. They also shed light on how malleable nest thermoregulation can be across elevations.

High thermal tolerance in high-elevation species and laboratory-reared colonies of tropical bumble bees.

Bumble bees are key pollinators with some species reared in captivity at a commercial scale, but with significant evidence of population declines and with alarming predictions of substantial impacts under climate change scenarios. While studies on the thermal biology of temperate bumble bees are still limited, they are entirely absent from the tropics where the effects of climate change are expected to be greater. Herein, we test whether bees' thermal tolerance decreases with elevation and whether the stable optimal conditions used in laboratory-reared colonies reduces their thermal tolerance. We assessed changes in the lower (CTMin) and upper (CTMax) critical thermal limits of four species at two elevations (2600 and 3600 m) in the Colombian Andes, examined the effect of body size, and evaluated the thermal tolerance of wild-caught and laboratory-reared individuals of Bombus pauloensis. We also compiled information on bumble bees' thermal limits and assessed potential predictors for broadscale patterns of variation. We found that CTMin decreased with increasing elevation, while CTMax was similar between elevations. CTMax was slightly higher (0.84°C) in laboratory-reared than in wild-caught bees while CTMin was similar, and CTMin decreased with increasing body size while CTMax did not. Latitude is a good predictor for CTMin while annual mean temperature, maximum and minimum temperatures of the warmest and coldest months are good predictors for both CTMin and CTMax. The stronger response in CTMin with increasing elevation, and similar CTMax, supports Brett's heat-invariant hypothesis, which has been documented in other taxa. Andean bumble bees appear to be about as heat tolerant as those from temperate areas, suggesting that other aspects besides temperature (e.g., water balance) might be more determinant environmental factors for these species. Laboratory-reared colonies are adequate surrogates for addressing questions on thermal tolerance and global warming impacts.

Thermal limits of Africanized honey bees are influenced by temperature ramping rate but not by other experimental conditions.

Interest in assessing the critical thermal limits of bees is rapidly increasing, as these physiological traits are good predictors of bees' potential responses to extreme temperature changes, which is relevant in the context of global climate change. However, estimates of thermal limits may be influenced by several factors and published studies differ in experimental methods and conditions, such as the rate of temperature change (ramping rate) and feeding status, which might yield inaccurate predictions and limit comparisons across taxa and regions. Using Africanized honey bees as a model organism, we assessed the effect of ramping rate (0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1.0 and 1.5 °C min-1) and length of starvation (recently fed vs. fasted for 6, 12, and 18 h) on foragers' lower (CTMin) and upper (CTMax) thermal limits, as well as the effect of cold stress on CTMax. In addition, we evaluated the two approaches currently used to assess CTMax with a water bath: floating or submerging the testing vials in the bath. We found that critical thermal limits were influenced by ramping rates but not by the other assessed experimental conditions. On average, at ramping rates faster than 0.5 °C min-1, bees displayed a CTMin 1.1-2.6 °C lower and a CTMax 5.3-6.9 °C higher than those of the slowest ramping rate. We discuss the implications of these results and provide suggestions for future thermal studies on bees.

Stingless bees of the genus Nannotrigona Cockerell (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Meliponini) in Colombia.

Nannotrigona Cockerell is one of the few stingless bee genera widely distributed and commonly encountered throughout the Neotropical region. Some species are abundant and managed in meliponiculture. However, the identity and number of species occurring in some countries or areas is almost entirely unknown. Herein we reviewed the species of Nannotrigona in Colombia, a South American country with literature records indicating the presence of either one or five species of this genus. Appraisal of museum specimens revealed the existence of the following eight species, three of which we describe as new: N. camargoi Rasmussen Gonzalez, N. gaboi n. sp., N. melanocera (Schwarz), N. mellaria (Smith), N. occidentalis n. sp., N. pilosa n. sp., N. schultzei (Friese), and N. tristella (Cockerell).We describe and figure the male of N. camargoi, N. gaboi, N. melanocera, and N. pilosa. In addition, we provide comparative diagnoses, a key to species, and new geographical records.

Retención de maeeria orgánica particulada grues en una quebrada de montaña troopical. bogotá, Colomiaa / Retention of Coarse Particulate Organic Matter in a Stream Tropical Mountain. Bogotá, Colombia

Se determinó el porcentaje de retención de tres fracciones de materia orgánica particulada gruesa (MOPG) y el efecto de la magnitud del caudal sobre la retención de la materia orgánica particulada (MOP), durante un período de cinco meses en tres sectores de una quebrada tropical de montaña ubicada en los Cerros Orientales de Bogotá Colombia. La condición tropical del sistema, mostró un patrón de caudal constante aunque pudo diferenciarse un período de alta y baja descarga. Los resultados mostraron que el valor promedio del porcentaje de retención fue relativamente alto, presentándose una asociación negativa entre la magnitud del caudal y el porcentaje de retención de las fracciones MOPG, siendo más evidente en partículas pequeñas (rs=0,74; p.

Retention percentage of three fractions of coarse particulate organic matter (MOPG) and discharge effect over retention of particulate organic matter (MOP) were studied during five months in three sectors of a tropical mountain stream, at Eastern hills of Bogotá Colombia. The tropical condition of the system, showed a pattern of constant discharge although could be a different period from low and high discharge. Results showed as average value of retention percentage was high, with a negative association between flow magnitude and percentage of retention for each MOPG fraction, being more evident in small particles (rs=0.74, p.

Variacion diaria de la deriva de macroinvertebrados acuatica y de materia organica en la cabecera de un rio tropical de montaña en el departamento de nariño, colombia / Daily Periodicity of Microinvertebrate Drift and Organic Matter in a Tropical Mountain Stream, Nariño, Colombia

La presente contribución describe la variación de la deriva de macroinvertebrados acuáticos y de materia orgánica particulada gruesa (MOPG) durante un ciclo diario en dos tramos de un río de la vertiente occidental de la cordillera occidental en el departamento de Nariño, Colombia. Se colectaron un total de 1.012 individuos (abundancia total) de los cuales el taxón de mayor abundancia correspondió a Ephemeroptera con 422 individuos. La densidad de deriva de macroinvertebrados acuáticos en el primer tramo (río de primer orden) fue mayor en horas del día y la deriva de MOPG fue mayor en horas de la noche. La densidad de deriva de macroinvertebrados acuáticos en el segundo tramo (río de segundo orden) fue mayor en horas de la noche y la deriva de MOPG fue mayor en horas de la mañana. Con el objeto de aproximarnos al río como un sistema de interacciones causales entre el medio físico y las comunidades y entre los organismos que las conforman, interpretamos nuestras observaciones en el marco de referencia de la teoría de ecosistemas que presentan vigencia en la actualidad.