Agricultural practice: bees jabuticabas

When they are causing damage to the culture, however, are not difficult to be tackled
by John Mathias


Some types of bees look for plants in which parties can collect resin to build their nests (Photo: Shutterstock)

T. spinipes bees are eating the unripe fruit of jabuticabeira. What should be done to prevent another attack them?

Maria José de Souza Silva
Maceió, AL

A: Although they are agricultural pests of many fruit species, it is worth remembering that bees T. spinipes or arapuás, Trigona spinipes (Fabr.) also play an important role in aiding the pollination of fruit and honey production. They look at parts plants in which they can collect resin to build their nests. When they are causing damage to the culture, however, are not difficult to be tackled. The difficulty lies in the fact that the main recommendation is to eliminate the control hive that sometimes is installed away from the attack site. Follow the bees when they return to the nest at dusk. By locating the nest, take it to a place further away, which procedure is best to be done by a professional, as a researcher, or meliponicultor beekeeper, who has expertise and materials, in addition to proper legal authorization to capture , shifting and installation of the colony in another area that does not upset. As nests are usually small, there is no need to apply insecticides, mainly due to the danger of handling and application of pesticides without proper precautions.

Consultant: Eduardo Suguino, researcher at Sao Paulo Agency for Agribusiness Technology (APTA), the Secretary of Agriculture of the State of São Paulo, esuguino@apta.sp.gov.br

Source: Globo Rural magazine