Monthly collects were made during a year (July/92 to June/93) in an area with secondary forest near the Pepital river with 1,650 m2, in Alcantara - MA, in order to know Apid fauna and their relationships with local flora. An amount of 1,076 bees (1,073 females and 3 males) were collected, belonging to 20 species and 11 genera of the Apidae family. The most abundant species were Trigona fulviventrís (42.2%), Apis mellifera (24.5%), Trigona pallens (12.5%), Trigona fuscipennis (10.0%), Tetragona clavipes (2.9%) and Melipona puncticollis (2.3%). The highest number of bees was obtained in July and the smallest abundance was in April (rainy month). The highest activity of bees during the day occured from 6.00 to 8.00 a.m.. Borreria verticillata (Rubiaceae), Clusia sp. (Guttiferae), Hyptis atrorubens (Labiatae), Heliotropium sp. (Boraginaceae) and Crotalaria retusa (Leguminosae) were intensively visited by Apidae species. Trigona were the most generalists, visiting all the botanic species where bees were collected, with preference in Guttiferae, Rubiaceae and Boraginaceae species.
Bees; Apidae; Floral resources; Alcantara