

PSYCHE 



VOL. XX. FEBRUARY, 1913. No. 1 



NOTES ON THE HABITS OF SOME CENTRAL AMERI- 

 CAN STINGLESS BEES. 1 



By William Morton Wheeler. 



While collecting insects in Central America during the winter 

 of 1911— '12, I was impressed with the great diversity of behavior 

 among the Meliponine, or stingless bees of the genus Trigona. 

 Prof. Cockerell has had the kindness to study and identify the 

 specimens I collected and as his paper appears in this number of 

 Psyche it seemed opportune to publish my field notes at the 

 same time. These notes comprise only such observations as I 

 was able to make while devoting most of my attention to other 

 insects and therefore contain little on the internal structure of the 

 nests, which can be studied only at the expense of much time and 

 labor. This part of the subject, however, has been ably treated 

 by two observers in South America, Silvestri. 2 and H. von Ihering 3 

 Ducke has also contributed some notes on the Brazilian Melipon- 

 inse, especially on the flowers which they visit. 4 



The observations of these authors are cited, because several of 

 the Trigonas of Central America are also members of the South 

 American stingless bee fauna. 



Trigona amalthea Olivier. 



A large colony of this black species was found nesting in the 

 base of a tree near Escuintla, Guatemala. The nest was situated 

 a few feet from the ground and had a rather convoluted, spout- 

 shaped entrance of black wax (cerumen) projecting between two of 



1 Contributions from the Entomological Laboratory of the Bussey Institution, Harvard 

 University. No. 61. 



2 Contribuzione alia Conoscenza dei Meliponidi del Bacino del Rio de la Plata, Riv. Patol. 

 Veget. X, 1902, pp. 121-170, 2 pis.; 19 text figs. 



' Biologie der stachellosen Honigbienen Brasiliens. Zool. Jahrb. Abth. f. Syst. XIX, 1903, 

 pp. 179-287, 13 pis., 8 text figs. 



4 Die Stachellosen Bienen (Melipona 111.) von Para. Zool. Jahrb. Abth. f. Syst XVII, 1902, 

 pp. 285-328, 1 pi.) 



