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

ABSTRACT: 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 (CT_Min) and upper (CT_Max) 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 exp

SUBMITTER: Gonzalez VH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9773376 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature