The Importance of Plant Community Composition and Diversity for Plant Resins Collection and Functioning

This chapter addresses the interaction between stingless bees and their surrounding environment in terms of the amount, types, and diversity of resins collected by colonies. We further discuss the implications of changes in (functional) resin plant communities and diversity for stingless bee conservation. Individual resin foragers can show clear preferences for specific resin sources. However, at the colony level, stingless bees diversify their resin collection when they have access to a variety of different resin plants. The composition and diversity of resin collectively foraged by a colony therefore depend on both the individual properties and preferences of resin foragers and the surrounding environment. As resins from different plant species can strongly differ in chemical composition, stingless bee colonies also increase the overall diversity of resin compounds by diversifying resin collection in environments rich in resin-producing plant species, such as tropical forests. Besides its usage as a building component, resin plays a pivotal role in the colonies’ defense against natural enemies. The effectiveness of colony defense in turn depends on the resin’s chemical properties. Through maximizing resin diversity intake, stingless bees likely also maximize the functional properties of resin, which may represent the most efficient strategy to keep at bay both pathogens and natural enemies threatening their colonies. Unfortunately, the natural habitats of stingless bees, i.e., tropical and subtropical forests, are severely threatened by anthropogenic activities, primarily through logging and conversion of forests to urban or agricultural land. Such activities significantly alter plant communities and the diversity of resources available to bees, including resin.