[en] Introduction. Meliponini and Apini contribute to the pollination of flowering plants and to improving agricultural yields. These bees’ diversity, distribution and abundance depend on the ecosystem in which they evolve. The present work aims to summarize the diversity, distribution, abundance, potential threats, challenges and issues faced with respect to these social bees in Africa.
Literature. In Africa, there were 21 species of Meliponini and 2 species of Apini (Apis). Aspects related to the species diversity, distribution, biology, ecology and abundance of nests are poorly documented, especially for Meliponini. This deficit could be related to a lack of interest of the authors or the various difficulties in performing these studies in Africa. With regard to the difficulties, there is a need to clarify the taxonomy of Meliponini, and the observation of nests in certain forest environments is difficult. Nest predation and habitat loss are the main threats that could cause the depopulation of certain social bee species in Africa. If there is currently new evidence that diseases and pests did not endanger these bees, then there is a need for further studies for better assessment of the risks that are associated with these potential threats.
Conclusions. Work on the diversity, distribution and abundance of the social bees must be strengthened to address the challenges that are related to these insects in Africa. Indeed, this approach will contribute to answering the challenges of sustainable management of the biodiversity and economic and agricultural issues.
Francis, Frédéric ; Université de Liège > Agronomie, Bio-ingénierie et Chimie (AgroBioChem) > Entomologie fonctionnelle et évolutive
Language :
English
Title :
Meliponini and Apini in Africa (Apidae: Apinae): a review on the challenges and stakes bound to their diversity and their distribution
Alternative titles :
[fr] Les Meliponini et les Apini en Afrique (Apidae : Apinae) : synthèse bibliographique sur les défis et les enjeux liés à leur diversité et leur distribution
Publication date :
2015
Journal title :
Biotechnologie, Agronomie, Société et Environnement
ISSN :
1370-6233
eISSN :
1780-4507
Publisher :
Presses Agronomiques de Gembloux, Gembloux, Belgium
Akinwande, K.L., Badejo, M.A., Ogbogu, S.S., Challenges associated with the honey bee (Apis mellifera adansonii) colonies establishment in south western Nigeria (2013) Afr. J. Food Agric. Nutr. Dev, 13 (2), pp. 7467-7484
Ambougou Atisso, V., (1991) Apis mellifera adansonii Lat. et les plantes utiles mellifères gabonaises (Département de l'Ivindo), recherches palynologiques, , Thèse de doctorat : Université Paris 6 (France)
Boesch, C., Head, J., Robbins, M.M., Complex tool sets for honey extraction among chimpanzees in Loango National Park, Gabon (2009) J. Hum. Evol, 56 (6), pp. 560-569
Bradbear, N., (2010) Le rôle des abeilles dans le développement rural, , http://www.fao.org/docrep/013/i0842f/i0842f00.pdf, Rome : FAO, (12/11/2011)
Brosset, A., Darchen, R., Une curieuse succession d'hôtes parasites des nids de Nasutitermes (1967) Biol. Gab, 3 (2), pp. 153-168
Brown, M.J.F., Paxton, R.J., The conservation of bees: a global perspective (2009) Apidologie, 40 (3), pp. 410-416
Byrne, A., Fitzpatrick, Ú., Bee conservation policy at the global, regional and national levels (2009) Apidologie, 40 (3), pp. 194-210
Combey, R., Geometric morphometrics reveals morphological differentiation within four African stingless bee species Rofela (2013) Ann. Biol. Res, 4 (12), pp. 95-105
Cortopassi-Laurino, M., Global meliponiculture: challenges and opportunities (2006) Apidologie, 37 (2), pp. 275-292
Costa, M.A., Del Lama, M.A., Melo, G.A.R., Sheppard, W.S., Molecular phylogeny of the stingless bees (Apidae, Apinae, Meliponini) inferred from mitochondrial 16S r DNA sequences (2003) Apidologie, 34 (1), pp. 73-84
Darchen, R., Sur la biologie de Trigona (Apotrigona) nebulata Komiensis Cock (1969) Biol. Gabonica, 3, pp. 151-183
Darchen, R., Trigona (Axestotrigona) oyani Darchen (Apidae, Trigoninae), une nouvelle espèce d'abeille africaine-description du nid inclus dans une fourmilière (1971) Biol. Gabonica, 7, pp. 407-421
Darchen, R., Écologie de quelques trigones (Trigona sp.) de la savane de Lamto (Côte d'Ivoire) (1972) Apidologie, 3 (4), pp. 341-367
Dietemann, V., Pirk, C.W.W., Crewe, R., Is there a need for conservation of honeybees in Africa? (2009) Apidologie, 40 (3), pp. 285-295
Drouineau, S., Robert, N., (1999) L'aménagement forestier au Gabon : historique, bilan, perspectives, , http://forafri.cirad.fr/ressources/forafri/08.pdf, (10/8/2015)
Eardley, C.D., Taxonomic revision of the African stingless bees (Apoidea: Apidae: Apinae: Meliponini) (2004) Afr. Plant Prot, 10 (2), pp. 63-96
Eardley, C.D., Urban, R., Catalogue of Afrotropical bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Apiformes) (2010) Zootaxa, 2455, pp. 1-548
Eardley, C.D., Kwapong, P., Taxonomy as a tool for conservation of African stingless bees and their honey (2013) Pot-honey: a legacy of stingless bees, pp. 261-268. , Vita P., Pedro S. & Roubik D.W., eds. New York, NY, USA: Springer
Ellis, J.D., Reviewing the confinement of small hive beetles (Aethina tumida) by western honey bees (Apis mellifera) (2005) Bee World, 86 (3), pp. 56-62
Ewnetu, Y., Lemma, W., Birhane, N., Antibacterial effects of Apis mellifera and stingless bees honeys on susceptible and resistant strains of Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pneumoniae in Gondar, Northwest Ethiopia (2013) BMC Complementary Altern. Med, 13, p. 269
Fontaine, C., Dajoz, I., Meriguet, J., Loreau, M., Functional diversity of plant-pollinator interaction webs enhances the persistence of plant communities (2006) PLo S Biol, 4 (1)
Franck, P., Genetic diversity of the honeybee in Africa: microsatellite and mitochondrial data (2001) Heredity, 86 (4), pp. 420-430
Gruber, K., Distinct subspecies or phenotypic plasticity? Genetic and morphological differentiation of mountain honey bees in East Africa (2013) Ecol. Evol, 3 (10), pp. 3204-3218
Hepburn, H.R., Radloff, S.E., Biogeography of the dwarf honeybees, Apis andreniformis and Apis florea (2011) Apidologie, 42 (3), pp. 293-300
Jaffé, R., Estimating the density of honeybee colonies across their natural range to fill the gap in pollinator decline censuses (2009) Conserv. Biol, 24 (2), pp. 583-593
Kajobe, R., Nesting biology of equatorial afrotropical stingless bees (Apidae
Meliponini) in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda (2007) J. Apic. Res, 46 (4), pp. 245-255
Kajobe, R., Pollen foraging by Apis mellifera and stingless bees Meliponula bocandei and Meliponula nebulata in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda (2007) Afr. J. Ecol, 45 (3), pp. 265-274
Kajobe, R., Roubik, D.W., Honey-making bee colony abundance and predation by apes and humans in a Uganda Forest Reserve (2006) Biotropica, 38 (2), pp. 210-218
Kandemir, İ., Özkan, A., Fuchs, S., Reevaluation of honeybee (Apis mellifera) microtaxonomy: a geometric morphometric approach (2011) Apidologie, 42 (5), pp. 618-627
Klatt, B.K., Bee pollination improves crop quality, shelf life and commercial value (2014) Proc. R. Soc. B, 281, p. 20132440
Klein, A.M., Importance of pollinators in changing landscapes for world crops (2007) Proc. R. Soc. B, 274, pp. 303-313
Kwapong, P.K., Ilechie, A.A., Kusi, R., Comparative antibacterial activity of stingless bee honey and standard antibiotics against common eye pathogens (2013) J. Microbiol. Biotechnol. Res, 3 (1), pp. 162-168
McNally, L.C., Schneider, S.S., Spatial distribution and nesting biology of colonies of the African honey bee Apis mellifera scutellata (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in Botswana, Africa (1996) Environ. Entomol, 25 (3), pp. 643-652
McLennan, M.R., Tool-use to obtain honey by chimpanzees at Bulindi: new record from Uganda (2011) Primates, 52 (4), pp. 315-322
Meixner, D.M., Leta, M.A., Koeniger, N., Fuchs, S., The honey bees of Ethiopia represent a new subspecies of Apis mellifera-Apis mellifera simensis n ssp (2011) Apidologie, 42 (3), pp. 425-437
Michener, C.D., (2007) The bees of the world, , 2nd ed. Baltimore, MD, USA: The Johns Hopkins University Press
Mogho Njoya, M.T., (2009) Diversity of stingless bees in Bamenda Afromontane Forests-Cameroon: nest architecture, behaviour and labour calendar, , Ph D thesis: Wilhelms Universität Bonn-Institut für Nutzpflanzenwissenschaften und Ressourcenschutz Rheinische Friedrich (Deutschland)
Muli, E., Evaluation of the distribution and impacts of parasites, pathogens, and pesticides on honeybee (Apis mellifera) populations in East Africa (2014) PLo S ONE, 9 (4)
Mumbi, C.T., Parasitic mite, Varroa species (Parasitiformes: Varroidae) infesting the colonies of African honeybees, Apis mellifera scutellata (Hymenoptera: Apididae) in Tanzania (2014) J. Entomol. Zool. Stud, 2 (3), pp. 188-196
Mumoki, F.N., An inventory of documented diseases of African honeybees: review article (2014) Afr. Entomol, 22 (3), pp. 473-487
Ollerton, J., Winfree, R., Tarrant, S., How many flowering plants are pollinated by animals? (2011) Oikos, 120 (321), pp. 321-326
Pauly, A., Hymenoptera Apoidea du Gabon (1998) Ann. Musée R. Afr. Centrale (Sci. Zool.) Tervuren (Belgique), 282, pp. 1-121
Pauly, A., Hora, Z.A., Apini and Meliponini from Ethiopia (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Apidae: Apinae) (2013) Belg. J. Entomol, 16, pp. 1-36
Pauly, A., Fabre Anguilet, E.C., Description de Liotrigona gabonensis sp nov., et quelques corrections à la synonymie des espèces africaines de mélipones (Hymenoptera : Apoidea : Apinae : Meliponini) (2013) Belg. J. Entomol, 15, pp. 1-13
Pauly, A., Vereecken, N., (2013) Les Meliponinae africaines, , http://www.atlashymenoptera.net/page.asp?ID=121, (03/12/2014)
Pettis, J.S., Delaplane, K.S., Coordinated responses to honey bee decline in the USA (2010) Apidologie, 41 (3), pp. 256-263
(2001) Présidence de la République Gabonaise, , Loi n°16/01 portant code forestier en république gabonaise
Radloff, S.E., Hepburn, H.R., Honeybees, Apis mellifera Linnaeus (Hymenoptera: Apidae), of equatorial Africa (1999) Afr. Entomol, 7 (2), pp. 265-269
Rasmussen, C., Cameron, S.A., Global stingless bee phylogeny supports ancient divergence, vicariance, and long distance dispersal (2010) Biol. J. Linn. Soc, 99 (1), pp. 206-232
Ruttner, F., (1988) Biogeography and taxonomy of honeybees, , Berlin: Springer-Verlag
Smith, F.G., The races of honeybees in Africa (1961) Bee World, 42, pp. 255-260
Strauss, U., Seasonal prevalence of pathogens and parasites in the savannah honeybee (Apis mellifera scutellata) (2013) J. Invertebr. Pathol, 114, pp. 45-52
Tornyie, F., Kwapong, P.K., Nesting ecology of stingless bees and potential threats to their survival within selected landscapes in the northern Volta region of Ghana (2015) Afr. J. Ecol
Tchuenguem, F.-N., Messi, J., Pauly, A., Activité de Meliponula erythra sur les fleurs de Dacryodes edulis et son impact sur la fructification (2001) Fruits, 56 (3), pp. 179-188
Tchuenguem, F.-N., Messi, J., Pauly, A., Recherches sur l'activité des Apoïdes sauvages sur le maïs à Yaoundé (Cameroun) et réflexions sur la pollinisation des graminées (2002) Biotechnol. Agron. Soc. Environ, 6 (2), pp. 87-98
Van Der Zee, R., Managed honey bee colony losses in Canada, China, Europe, Israel and Turkey, for the winters of 2008-9 and 2009-10 (2012) J. Apic. Res, 51 (1), pp. 100-114
Vanbergen, A.J., Landscape alteration and habitat modification: impacts on plant-pollinator systems (2014) Curr. Opin. Insect Sci, 5, pp. 44-49
(2013) The interactive forest atlas of Gabon, , http://www.wri.org/our-work/project/congo-basin-forests/gabon#project-tabs, (16/06/2014)
