Pollen sources used by Apis mellifera L.and Trigonini (apidae) species in Piracicaba, State of São Paulo, BrazilPollen sources used by a colony of Apis mellifera and four colonies of some species of Trigonini were compared during the months of October and November of 1996 in the Câmpus of Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz, Piracicaba, State of São Paulo, Brazil (22o43'S; 47o25'W; altitude: 580 m). The identification of the vegetable species visited by bees was through the pollen found in the masses located in the workers' pollen basket of the studied species. Fifty-three types of pollen were identified, and the largest similarity percentage in the use of the pollen sources was between Nannotrigona testaceicornis and Tetragonisca angustula and the smallest between A. mellifera and T. angustula. The sequence of the species with larger width of the niche food was A. mellifera followed by Plebeia droryana, Partamona helleri, T. angustula and N. testaceicornis, while for the uniformity of use of the pollen sources it was P. helleri, P. droryana, A. mellifera, N. testaceicornis and T. angustula.
bees; pollen; niche food
