Os meliponíneos são abelhas que ocorrem nas regiões tropicais e subtropicais da Terra. Neste momento em que as mudanças globais atraem tanto interesse científico, consideramos oportuno o estudo detalhado da organização social de Plebeia remota, espécie de abelha que apresenta diapausa reprodutiva no outono e inverno. Embora outras pesquisas tenham sido realizadas nesta espécie, indicando principalmente os efeitos dos fatores abióticos sobre a atividade de vôo, a divisão de trabalho entre as operárias durante o forrageamento não tinha sido estudada, tanto no período de diapausa quanto no período em que ocorre oviposição pela rainha. A ausência da construção de células de cria durante alguns meses na colônia, e o reinício desta atividade em agosto, implicam em profundas alterações fisiológicas em um grupo de operárias e na rainha, aumentando a complexidade da divisão de trabalho e da organização social. Analisamos as atividades de operárias individualmente nos dois períodos, e tratamos do comportamento individual na construção do coletivo nas atividades de forrageamento. Uma das abordagens foi a ritmicidade das forrageiras nesses dois períodos. Também estudamos o efeito da temperatura e da umidade relativa no padrão de forrageamento. Além disso, outro processo de grande importância para a reprodução das colônias foi estudado, a enxameação. Tanto a biologia dos enxames quanto a ritmicidade da construção de células e do POP no início do estabelecimento das colônias recém-enxameadas foram estudadas. Também discutimos os fatores que podem estar envolvidos no crescimento inicial das colônias e seu estabelecimento. O forrageamento e a enxameação são processos muito importantes para o crescimento e reprodução das colônias, e a compreensão deles são importantes para o desenvolvimento de técnicas de manejo e de medidas para a promoção da conservação das abelhas. / The meliponine are bees that occur in the tropical and subtropical regions of the Earth. In this moment that the global changes attract so much scientific interest, we consider opportune the detailed study of the social organization of Plebeia remota, a bee species that present reproductive diapause in autumn and winter. Although other researches had been made in this species, indicating mainly the effects of abiotic factors on the flight activity, the division of labor among the workers during the foraging had not been studied either in the diapause period or in the queen oviposition period. The absence of brood cells construction during some months in the colony, and the restart of this activity in august, imply profound physiologic alterations in a group of workers and in the queen, increasing the complexity of the division of labor and social organization. We analyzed the workers activities individually in the two periods and considered the individual behavior in the construction of the collective on the foraging activities. One of the approaches was the rhythm of the foragers in these two periods. We also studied the effect of temperature and relative humidity on the foraging pattern. Furthermore, another process of great importance to the reproduction of the colonies was studied, the swarming. Either the biology of the swarms as the rhythm of the construction of brood cells and of the POP in the beginning of the establishment of the colonies was studied. We also discussed the factors that may have been involved in the initial growth of the colonies and their establishment. The foraging and the swarming are processes very important to the growth and the reproduction of the colonies, and their comprehension is important to the development of management techniques and measurements to the promotion of conservation of bees.

Orientador: Eduardo Custódio Gasparino / Resumo: As abelhas Apis mellifera L. (1758) são consideradas os principais polinizadores das plantas com flores e também uma das espécies mais produtoras de mel. Devido o amplo número de espécies vegetais que utilizam para a obtenção de alimento e matéria-prima, a identificação botânica do mel é fundamental para a classificação da florada em monofloral ou silvestre. Para isso, a técnica da melissopalinologia utiliza da análise das características morfológicas externas dos grãos de pólen presentes no mel. O presente estudo objetivou analisar o comportamento estacional de forrageamento de colmeias de Apis mellifera por meio da identificação dos tipos polínicos nectíferos e poliníferos presentes no mel. As coletas do mel foram realizadas entre outubro de 2017 a agosto de 2018 nas estações primavera, verão, outono e inverno no Setor de Apicultura da Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias, FCAV/UNESP Campus de Jaboticabal, São Paulo, Brasil onde três colmeias de abelhas Apis mellifera estavam instaladas. Para a extração dos grãos de pólen e montagem das lâminas a metodologia clássica da melissopalinologia e a técnica clássica de acetólise foram empregadas. Ao todo, foram encontrados 42 tipos polínicos, distribuídos em 24 famílias botânicas. Alguns tipos foram observados em todas as estações: Alternanthera (Amaranthaceae), Cecropia (Urticaceae), Mimosa (Fabaceae) e Myrtaceae (Myrtaceae), mas também houve a ocorrência de tipos exclusivos das estações: Aloe, Bignoniaceae, Byrsonima, D... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: Apis mellifera L. (1758) bees are considered the main pollinators of flowering plants and also one of the most honey-producing species. Because of the large number of plant species they use to obtain food and raw materials, the botanical identification of honey is fundamental for the classification of flowering as monofloral or wild. For this, the melissopalynology technique uses the analysis of the external morphological characteristics of pollen grains present in honey. The present study aimed to analyze the seasonal foraging behavior of Apis mellifera hives by identifying the nectiferous and polyniferous pollen types present in honey. Honey was collected between October 2017 and August 2018 in the spring, summer, autumn and winter seasons at the Setor de Apicultura da Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias, FCAV/UNESP Campus de Jaboticabal, São Paulo, Brazil where three hives of Apis mellifera bees were installed. For the extraction of pollen grains and slide assembly the classical melissopalynology methodology and the classical acetolysis technique were employed. In all, 42 pollen types were found, distributed in 24 botanical families. Some types were observed in all seasons: Alternanthera (Amaranthaceae), Cecropia (Urticaceae), Mimosa (Fabaceae) and Myrtaceae (Myrtaceae), but there were also unique types of seasons: Aloe, Bignoniaceae, Byrsonima, Daustinia, Eucalyptus, Euphorbiaceae, Machaerium, Mangifera, Pseudobombax, Sapindus, Solanum and Tabebuia in spring; An... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

Public awareness of declining pollinator populations has increased interest in creating “bee–friendly” urban landscapes. I quantified bee visitation and assemblages of 72 species of flowering woody plants common in urban landscapes. I found strong plant species effects and variation in seasonal activity of particular bee taxa but no overall differences in bee visitation or genus diversity between native versus nonnative species or trees versus shrubs. Analysis of pollen from a subset of these plants revealed small but statistically significant differences in total and essential amino acids between native and nonnative species and trees and shrubs, although each group had species with high quality pollen. Uptake and dissipation of soil–applied imidacloprid and dinotefuran was measured in nectar and leaves of two woody plant species, Ilex × attenuata and Clethra alnifolia to assess concentrations to which pollinators might be exposed in landscape settings. Three application timings were evaluated. Residues in nectar and tissue were analyzed by HPLC–MS/MS in two successive years. Residues in nectar following autumn or spring applications exceed concentrations shown to adversely affect individual and colony–level traits of bees. Summer application mitigated concentrations of imidacloprid (8–31 ng/g), but not dinotefuran (235–1191 ng/g), in nectar.

Western honey bees (Apis mellifera; hereafter honey bees) provide vital pollination services to global agriculture and biodiversity. However in recent years they have experienced severe population declines in many regions of the northern hemisphere. Although causes of these honey bee declines are not well understood, multiple pressures such as changes in land-use and climate, management issues, and introduced parasites are believed to be responsible. First described in honey bees in 2006 during a period of high colony mortalities, the microsporidian gut parasite Nosema ceranae became of great concern. In this dissertation I investigated the distribution, management, virulence, and inter-specific interactions of this introduced species. First, I described and clarified the multiple pressures believed to influence honey bee health, including N. ceranae, especially in relation to the mysterious phenomenon Colony Collapse Disorder. I then surveyed colonies in Maritime Canada for N. ceranae and the historic honey bee microsporidian Nosema apis. Although both species were present at a regional scale, intensive sampling in Nova Scotia revealed that N. ceranae was highly prevalent compared to the historic congener. Next, I investigated two potential management options for the parasite. Chemotherapy using the fungicide fumagillin reduced N. ceranae spore intensity but had no effect on colony survival, and indoor over-wintering did not reduce spore intensity but was associated with increased colony survivorship in spring. Using a comparative approach, I observed that N. ceranae infection significantly reduced honey bee longevity in the laboratory but did not influence overall colony health or strength in the field. Last, a laboratory study demonstrated reduced spore production during N. ceranae and N. apis co-infection, possibly due to inter-specific competition that has resulted in the displacement of the historic Nosema species by N. ceranae in many global regions. This dissertation provides crucial information on biology and management of N. ceranae that can be used towards the development of an integrated pest management strategy, and for future studies investigating factors that may influence the parasite’s distribution, virulence, and inter-specific interactions.

Laboratory bioassay was used to determine the pathogenicity of nine isolates of fungi of the genera Metarhizium, Beauveria and Clonostachys to the parasitic mite, Varroa destructor. All nine isolates were pathogenic to V. destructor with Metarhizuim anisopliae UAMH 9198, Clonostachys rosea UAMH 9161 and Beauveria bassiana GHA being the most pathogenic within their respective species. Metarhizium anisopliae UAMH 9198 was more lethal to V. destructor than B. bassiana GHA and C. rosea UAMH 9161 with LC50 values of 1.6 x 10(5), 9.6 x 10(6) and 5.4 x 10(6) conidia/mL, respectively. Metarhizium anisopliae and B. bassiana significantly affected brood and adult honey bee survivorship and their immune responses. They were lethal to the bees with LC50s of 3.70 x 10(6) and 2.62 x 10()5 conidia/mL, respectively. The effect of temperature and thymol on conidia germination, production and colony growth of the fungal isolates was determined. Temperature significantly affected conidia germination, production and colony growth (P < 0.05) but thymol did not. Efficacy of the two most promising isolates (M. anisopliae UAMH 9198 and B. bassiana GHA) as potential bio-control agents against V. destructor in hives was evaluated. Fungal inocula were applied as dry formulation, with corn flour as carrier, using dispenser tray and dusting applications. Treatments were either applied alone or in combination with thymol to determine any synergistic effects. All treatments significantly increased mite mortality (P < 0.05), however, the mite control efficacy varied between fungal treatments and application methods. Combined treatments of fungi and thymol caused significantly higher mite mortality than single fungal treatments, which showed control levels of ≤61%. Significant differences in mite mortality were found between the two delivery methods with the differences depending on the fungal isolate. The results suggest that M. anisopliae UAMH 9198 would be a more effective bio-control agent for the management of V. destructor in honey bee colonies than the other isolates tested when dispensed continuously in hives using delivery methods such as a dispenser tray. However, future research is needed to improve delivery methods and investigate the effect of carriers used in the formulation on the efficacy of such entomopathogenic fungi. / Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food (OMAF), University of Guelph

Šiame darbe yra trumpai apžvelgiami dalelių spiečių sistemų algoritmai, skirstymo uždaviniai ir jų formuluotės, bei praktinės interpretacijos, plačiau apžvelgiami ir analizuojami dirbtinių bičių kolonijų algoritmai. Taip pat šiame darbe galima rasti dirbtinių bičių kolonijų algoritmo pritaikymą skirstymo uždaviniams spręsti, bei sukurtos programos skaičiavimo rezultatų analizę. / This paper consists of short descriptions of swarm systems algorithms, assigment problems and longer overview of artificial bee colony algorithms and it‘s analysis. Moreover, you can find an Artificial Bee Colony Algorithm's Application to one of an Assigment Problems and it's computational results analysis.

Šiame darbe yra trumpai apžvelgiami dalelių spiečių sistemų algoritmai, maršrutų optimizavimo uždaviniai ir jų formuluotės, bei praktinės interpretacijos. Plačiau apžvelgiami dirbtinių bičių kolonijų algoritmai ir jų pritaikymas keliaujančio pirklio uždaviniams spręsti. Taip pat šiame darbe galima rasti dirbtinių bičių kolonijų algoritmo pritaikymą keliaujančio pirklio uždaviniams spręsti, bei sukurtos programos skaičiavimo rezultatų analizę. / This paper consists of short description of swarm systems algorithms, route optimisation problems overview and longer description of artificial bee colony algorithms adaptation for traveling salesman problem. Moreover, you can find an artificial bee colony algorithm's application to traveling salesman problem and analysis of computational results.

Honeybees are used as a major agricultural input around the world and their pollination services have been valued at US$14.6 billion to the United States alone. Dramatic declines in honeybee populations around the globe, however, questioned the sustainability of this reliance on a single pollinator species. In this study, I investigated the response of wild pollinator communities to declining honeybee density and changing land use intensity to determine the potential of wild pollinators to compensate for honeybee loss in an increasingly human-modified environment. I generated a gradient of declining honeybee density using increasing distances from commercial bee hives, and conducted flower observations on experimentally-grown plants across this gradient. I investigate how declining honeybee densities and intensifying land use combine to influence the composition of the pollinator community as a whole, then go on to explore individual trends in the most common pollinator species. I then analyze how this impacts the transport of viable pollen by the pollinator community and determine how these changes alter seed set in several common plant species. I then change my focus away from the composition of the pollinator community, and instead investigate how declining honeybee densities and land-use intensification influence the structuring of interactions between plants and pollinators within the community. I identify the pollen species carried by pollinators, and use this to construct a network of pollination interactions. I then use this network to analyze how changes in the way species interact influences the pollination services delivered by the pollinator community to different plant groups (weeds, native plants, and crop species). My findings show that honeybee declines may have a large impact on community structure and interactions within pollination systems. I observed a significant shift in the wild pollinator community composition as honeybee densities declined, from a generally bee/hoverfly dominated community to one more dominated by large flies. This was associated with a significant decline in the total pollen load transported by the community, indicating that pollination services may suffer in the absence of honeybees. As honeybee densities declined, however, I also observed a shift toward greater specialisation of pollinators on abundant resources, increased pollinator constancy, and a higher viability rate of the pollen transported. These findings show that although the total amount of pollen transported by the community declined as honeybee densities decreased, the probability of this pollen transport resulting in effective pollination likely increased. Thus, I observed no decrease in seed set with honeybee declines in any of the three plant species tested, and one of these even showed a significant increase. Finally, I also demonstrated that this change differentially affected different plant types, and that the extent of changes to each plant species differed between land-use types. This reflected changes in the relative abundance of pollen types in different land uses, with greater specialisation in the absence of honeybees disproportionately benefiting common species. These findings have strong implications for several contemporary issues in pollination biology, both locally within New Zealand and on a global scale. These are discussed in the following sections. Finally, I conclude by discussing the implications of this research on several contemporary issues in pollination biology, namely the ability for wild pollinators to compensate for honeybee declines, the impact of honeybees on natural new Zealand ecosystems, the contribution of honeybees to invasive weed pollination and finally the management of surrounding land use types to maximize the effectiveness of wild pollinators.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-26T13:32:21Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 texto completo.pdf: 540797 bytes, checksum: 8f31a791537c94182ffb7cf0199e9e42 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-02-28 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Bees are essential for the maintenance of biodiversity. They are also responsible for a large percentage of world food production. The species Apis mellifera is considered of great economic value due to its products for human consumption. The creation of insect-resistant transgenic products has increased the chances for the contact between bees and the Cry proteins derived from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis, which can be toxic to bees. Therefore, it is very important to study the hazards of toxicity. The study of these proteins in bees can be conducted by using survival analysis techniques, in which the response variable is the time until the occurrence of the event of interest, called failure time. If failure does not occur, time is called censoring, which is some partial information. The main interest is to estimate parameters to describe the survival or hazards, at a given time. In general, when there are covariates that may affect the survival time, adjustment can be performed by the Cox Regression Model, also known as proportional hazards model, through the assumption of proportional hazards among individuals over time. Chapter I, which deals with an adaptation of the Cox Regression model known as Fragility Model, not only explains the hazard of failure from individuals due to the effect of covariates, but also describes the existence of an unobserved random variable that groups individuals in natural or artificial conglomerates. The survival times were modeled to explain the hazard of failure by immature workers of A. mellifera under the effect of covariates; the colony was used as a random variable; and the ingestion of Cry1Ac protein, as fixed explanatory variable. Three different diets were tested to evaluate the toxicity of Cry1Ac on A. Mellifera: pure artificial (D0), artificial diluted in water with Cry1Ac (D2) and artificial diluted in water (D2). The individuals were collected from five different colonies maintained in Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil. The random variable colony (frailty) was significant, which indicates statistical differences in the lifespans of bees from different colonies. Considering this diversity of frailty, the artificial diet diluted in water showed a higher hazard of failure, significantly different from the effect of the control diet (artificial pure). Therefore, the survival of the bee larvae was decreased due to the addition of water to the diet, which diluted the feed. However, the Cry1Ac-protein-based diet showed no significant hazard of failure when compared with the control. An alternative technique to the Cox model is presented in Chapter II of this work. When no proportional hazards of the individuals over time are observed within the sample, it is necessary to stratify or perform some other weakening of the proportional hazard condition. It can be used the Quantile Regression, which studies the relationship between the dependent variable and the explanatory variables in the conditional quantiles by minimizing the weighted mean absolute errors. This technique has properties of equivariance, invariance for monotomic transformations and robustness in the presence of outliers. Thus, by means of equivariance, they can be applied to data with censoring. It was found that, in the same set of biosafety data from the Cry1Ac protein, in honeybees called A. Mellifera, the hazards of failure by individuals are not proportionalities for the different diets studied. The survival times of bees were adjusted by quantile regression, by using the Portnoy estimator for 14 quantiles. In quantiles {0.10; 0.15; 0.30; 0.40}, the coefficients are negative values significantly different from zero. For such, in these quantiles, the individuals fed with pure diet (D0) had longer survival time compared to those fed with a diet containing Cry1Ac protein (D1). This was observed among younger individuals, since the lifespan of the larvae lifespans in these quantiles are below the average time of life. The coefficients for the quantiles {0.35; 0.50; 0.60} presented statistically significant negative effect. Therefore, water addition to the diet affected the survival of larvae approximately at the average lifespans. / As abelhas são seres indispensáveis para a manutenção da biodiversidade e além disso, são responsáveis por grande porcentagem da produção mundial de alimentos. A Apis mellifera é considerada espécie de grande valor econômico, devido a seus produtos para o consumo humano. Atualmente, com a criação de transgênicos resistentes a insetos, aumentou a possibilidade das abelhas entrarem em contato com as proteínas Cry derivada da bactéria Bacillus thuringiensis, que pode ser toxica às abelhas, tornando o estudo dos riscos de toxicidade importante. Portanto, o estudo dessas proteínas nas abelhas pode ser realizada por meio das técnicas da análise de sobrevivência. Nestas técnicas a variável resposta é o tempo até a ocorrência do evento de interesse, denominado tempo de falha, e se a falha não ocorrer, o tempo é denominado censura, que é uma informação parcial. O principal interesse é estimar parâmetros para descrever a sobrevivência ou riscos, num certo tempo determinado. Usualmente quando existem covariáveis que possam influir no tempo de sobrevivência o ajuste pode ser realizado pelo Modelo Regressão de Cox, também conhecido como de modelo de riscos proporcionais, pela suposição dos riscos proporcionais entre os indivíduos ao longo do tempo. No Capítulo I deste trabalho é realizada uma adaptação da Regressão de Cox conhecida como Modelo de Fragilidade, que além de explicar o risco do indivíduo falhar por influência de covariáveis, também descreve a existência de alguma variável aleatória não observada que agrupa indivíduos em conglomerados naturais ou artificiais. Os tempos de sobrevivência foram modelados para explicar o risco de falhar das operárias imaturas de A. mellifera sob o efeito de covariáveis, sendo a colônia utilizada como variável aleatória e a ingestão da proteína Cry1Ac como variável explicativa fixa. Para avaliar a toxicidade de Cry1Ac sobre A. mellifera, foram testadas três diferentes dietas: artificial pura (D0), artificial diluída em água com Cry1Ac (D2) e artificial diluída em água (D2). Os indivíduos foram coletados de cinco colônias diferentes mantidas em Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brasil. A variável aleatória colônia (fragilidade) foi significativa, indicando diferenças estatísticas nos tempos de vida das abelhas provenientes de diferentes colônias. Dentro dessa diversidade de fragilidade, a dieta artificial diluída em água apresentou risco maior de falhar, significativamente diferente do efeito da dieta controle (artificial pura). Portanto, a sobrevivência das larvas de abelhas foi diminuída em virtude da adição de água na dieta, pela diluição do alimento. No entanto, a dieta baseada na proteína Cry1Ac não mostrou risco de falha significativo quando comparado com o controle. Uma técnica alternativa ao Modelo de Cox é apresentada no Capítulo II deste trabalho. Quando se verifica que os riscos dos indivíduos, ao longo do tempo dentro da amostra, não são proporcionais, é necessário estratificar ou realizar um outro procedimento na análise. Uma alternativa que pode ser utilizada é a Regressão Quantílica, que estuda a relação entre a variável dependente e as variáveis explicativas nos quantis condicionais, por meio da minimização de erros absolutos ponderados. Esta técnica possui propriedades de equivariância, invariância para transformações monotômicas e robustez na presença de outlier. Assim, pela equivariância podem ser aplicados aos dados com censura. Foi verificado que no mesmo conjunto de dados de biossegurança da proteína Cry1Ac em abelhas denominadas A. mellifera que os riscos de falhar dos indivíduos não são proporcionalidades para as diferentes dietas estudadas. Os tempos de sobrevivência das abelhas foram ajustados pela regressão quantílica, utilizando o estimador de Portnoy para 14 quantis. Nos quantis {0,10; 0,15; 0,30; 0,40} os coeficientes são valores negativos significativamente diferentes de zero. Por tanto, nestes quantis os indivíduos alimentados com a dieta pura (D0) tiveram maior tempo de sobrevivência, que aqueles que têm incorporado à proteína Cry1Ac na dieta (D1), isto aconteceu entre os indivíduos mais novos, já que nesses quantis os tempos de vida das larvas são inferiores ao tempo de vida mediano. Os coeficientes para os quantis {0,35; 0,50;0,60} apresentaram efeito negativo estatisticamente significativos, por tanto a incorporação da água na dieta influiu na sobrevivência das larvas aproximadamente nos tempos medianos de vida.

Submitted by Deyse Queiroz (deysequeirozz@hotmail.com) on 2018-06-04T13:06:45Z No. of bitstreams: 1 MARIA CÂNDIDA DE ALMEIDA MARIZ DANTAS - DISSERTAÇÃO PPGSA PROFISSIONAL 2016..pdf: 5887085 bytes, checksum: 4543519f96163c18068dfd0fee4498ed (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-06-04T13:06:45Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 MARIA CÂNDIDA DE ALMEIDA MARIZ DANTAS - DISSERTAÇÃO PPGSA PROFISSIONAL 2016..pdf: 5887085 bytes, checksum: 4543519f96163c18068dfd0fee4498ed (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016 / A abelha Jandaíra (Melipona subnitida Ducke), conhecida popularmente por abelhas indígenas sem ferrão, é uma espécie de melipônea típica da caatinga, do semiárido brasileiro. No entanto, está ameaçada de extinção em consequência das alterações de seus ambientes, causadas principalmente pelo desmatamento, uso indiscriminado de agrotóxicos e pela ação predatória de meleiros. Portanto, objetivou-se com este trabalho estudar a arquitetura de ninho e manejo de abelha Jandaíra em criatório comercial, localizado na comunidade Baixio dos Albuquerque, no município de São João do Rio do Peixe, região do alto sertão da Paraíba. Os dados da pesquisa foram coletados durante o manejo de colônias alojadas em caixas racionais, medindo 70 cm de comprimento, 11 cm de largura e 13 cm de altura, no período de novembro de 2014 a julho de 2015. Para caracterização do ninho, foram mensurados os parâmetros relativos à área de crias e área de alimentos. Na área de crias, foram avaliados o número de discos por colônia, comprimento (cm), largura (cm) e altura(cm) dos discos, diâmetro (cm) e altura (cm) das células de crias, número de células de crias por cm2 e volume das células de crias (ml). Na área de alimentos, foram avaliados o número de potes de mel e de pólen por colônia, altura (cm) e diâmetro (cm) dos potes de mel e de pólen, volume dos potes de mel (ml) e peso dos potes de pólen (g). Na área de crias, foram encontrados, em média, 5,10 discos por colônia que apresentaram comprimento e largura 10,42 cm e 5,58 cm, respectivamente. Em relação às células de crias, foram encontradas 4,10 por cm2, cujo diâmetro e altura foram respectivamente de 0,52 e 0,79cm. Foram encontrados, em média, 30,41 potes de mel cuja altura, diâmetro e volume apresentaram, respectivamente, os valores médios de 3,07 cm, 3,05 cm e 6,73 ml. A média de potes de pólen foi de 12,21 unidades por colônia, com altura de 3,04 cm, 2,8 cm de diâmetro e 7,23 g de massa por pote. Potes de mel e de pólen estão diretamente relacionados com produção de mel e desenvolvimento da colônia. Os resultados sugerem que a criação de abelha Jandaíra em caixas racionais proporciona um melhor aproveitamento dos produtos elaborados por estes insetos, sem danificar a área de ninho nem comprometer o desenvolvimento das colônias, oferece melhores condições de manejo ao criador e evita a destruição da vegetação nativa. / Jandaíra bee (Melipona subnitida DUCKE), popularly known by indigenous stingless bees, is a kind of melipona, widespread in the Brazilian northeast, the “caatinga” and the northeastern semi-arid region, although is threatened with extinction as a result of changes in their environment, caused mainly by deforestation, indiscriminate use of pesticides and the predatory actions by “Meleiros”. The objective was to study the nest architecture and management of Jandaíra bee at a commercial breeding facility, located in the community “Baixio dos Albuquerque”, in São João do Rio do Peixe, semi-arid region of Paraíba. The research data were collected during the colonies management housed in rational nesting boxes, measuring 70 cm long, 11cm wide and 13cm high, from November 2014 to July 2015. To characterize the nest, parameters related to brood area and food areawere measured. In the brood area,were evaluated the number of brood combs per colony, length (cm), width (cm) and height (cm) of the brood combs; diameter (cm) and height (cm) of the brood cells, number of brood cells per cm2 and the brood cells volume (ml). In the food area, were evaluated the number of honey pots and pollen pots per colony, height (cm) and diameter (cm) of the honey and pollen pots, honey pots volume (ml) and pollen pots weight (g). In the brood area, were found an average of 5.10 brood combs per colony, with length and width of 10,42cm and 5,58cm, respectively. Regarding the brood cells, were found 4.10 per cm2, with diameter and height of 0.52cm and 0.79cm, respectively. Was found an average of 30.41 honey pots, which height, diameter and volume showed, respectively, the mean values of 3,07cm, 3,05cm and 6,73ml. The mean number of pollen pots was 12.21 units per colony, with 3,04cm in height, 2,8cm in diameter and mass of 7,23g per pot. Honey and pollen pots are directly related with the colony development and honey production. The results suggest that the creation of Jandaíra bee on rational nesting boxes provides a better use of products made by these insects, without damaging the nest area, nor compromising the colonies development, offering better handling conditions to the beekeeper and preventing the destruction of native vegetation.