Abstract
The pollination effectiveness of the stingless bee Melipona quadrifasciata and the honey bee Apis mellifera was tested in tomato plots. The experiment was conducted in four greenhouses as well as in an external open plot in Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil. The tomato plants were exposed to visits by M. quadrifasciata in one greenhouse and to A. mellifera in another; two greenhouses were maintained without bees (controls) and an open field plot was exposed to pollinators in an area where both honey bee and stingless bee colonies are abundant. We counted the number of tomatoes produced in each plot. Two hundred tomatoes from each plot were weighed, their vertical and transversal circumferences were measured, and the seeds were counted. We collected 253 Chrysomelidae, 17 Halictidae, one Paratrigona sp, and one honey bee from the flowers of the tomato plants in the open area. The largest number of fruits (1414 tomatoes), the heaviest and largest tomatoes, and the ones with the most seed were collected from the greenhouse with stingless bees. Fruits cultivated in the greenhouse with honey bees had the same weight and size as those produced in one of the control greenhouses. The stingless bee, M. quadrifasciata, was significantly more efficient than honey bees in pollinating greenhouse tomatoes.
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Claims 9
Claim · model-written summary
Open tomato flowers hosted 253 Chrysomelidae.
- Taxon
- tomato plants
Solanum lycopersicume0 - Interactor
- ChrysomelidaeChrysomelidaee0other
- Outcome
- Chrysomelidaee0
- Value
- 253e0
- Setting
- open areae0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“We collected 253 Chrysomelidae, 17 Halictidae, one Paratrigona sp, and one honey bee from the flowers of the tomato plants in the open area.”
Claim · model-written summary
Open tomato flowers hosted 17 Halictidae.
- Taxon
- tomato plantsSolanum lycopersicume0
- Interactor
- HalictidaeHalictidaee0pollinator
- Outcome
- Halictidaee0
- Value
- 17e0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“We collected 253 Chrysomelidae, 17 Halictidae, one Paratrigona sp, and one honey bee from the flowers of the tomato plants in the open area.”
Claim · model-written summary
Open tomato flowers hosted one Paratrigona sp.
- Taxon
- tomato plantsSolanum lycopersicume0
- Interactor
- Paratrigona sp
Paratrigonae0pollinator - Outcome
- Paratrigona spe0
- Value
- onee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“one Paratrigona sp, and one honey bee from the flowers of the tomato plants in the open area.”
t0“tomatoes”
Claim · model-written summary
Open tomato flowers hosted one honey bee.
- Taxon
- tomato plantsSolanum lycopersicume0
- Interactor
- honey bee
_Apis_mellifera_(female)_-_on_viburnum_tinus_flowers.jpg?width=60)
Apis melliferae0pollinator - Outcome
- honey beee0
- Value
- onee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
_Apis_mellifera_(female)_-_on_viburnum_tinus_flowers.jpg?width=500)
Verbatim
e0“one honey bee from the flowers of the tomato plants in the open area.”
Claim · model-written summary
The stingless bee greenhouse produced the most tomatoes, 1414.
- Taxon
- tomatoesSolanum lycopersicume0
- Treatment
- stingless beese0
- Interactor
- stingless beesMeliponinie0pollinator
- Outcome
- number of fruitse0
- Direction
- largeste0
- Value
- 1414 tomatoese0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The largest number of fruits (1414 tomatoes), the heaviest and largest tomatoes, and the ones with the most seed were collected from the greenhouse with stingless bees.”
Claim · model-written summary
The stingless bee greenhouse had the heaviest and largest tomatoes.
- Taxon
- tomatoesSolanum lycopersicume0
- Treatment
- stingless beese0
- Interactor
- stingless beesMeliponinie0pollinator
- Outcome
- heaviest and largest tomatoese0
- Direction
- heavieste0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The largest number of fruits (1414 tomatoes), the heaviest and largest tomatoes, and the ones with the most seed were collected from the greenhouse with stingless bees.”
Claim · model-written summary
The stingless bee greenhouse produced tomatoes with the most seeds.
- Taxon
- tomatoesSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Treatment
- stingless beese0
- Interactor
- stingless beesMeliponinie0pollinator
- Outcome
- most seede0
- Direction
- moste0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the ones with the most seed were collected from the greenhouse with stingless bees.”
t0“tomatoes”
Claim · model-written summary
Honey bee greenhouse fruits matched one control greenhouse in weight and size.
- Taxon
- tomatoesSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Treatment
- honey beese0
- Outcome
- weight and sizee0
- Direction
- samee0
- Comparator
- one of the control greenhousese0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Fruits cultivated in the greenhouse with honey bees had the same weight and size as those produced in one of the control greenhouses.”
t0“tomatoes”
Claim · model-written summary
M. quadrifasciata pollinated greenhouse tomatoes more efficiently than honey bees.
- Taxon
- tomatoesSolanum lycopersicume0
- Treatment
- M. quadrifasciatae0
- Interactor
- M. quadrifasciata
Melipona quadrifasciatae0pollinator - Outcome
- pollinating greenhouse tomatoese0
- Direction
- more efficiente0
- Comparator
- honey beese0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The stingless bee, M. quadrifasciata, was significantly more efficient than honey bees in pollinating greenhouse tomatoes.”