Summary
During one year, in Manaus, the loads in the corbicula of 267 bees Melipona seminigra (from 13 to 27 per month) were studied. Of these, 104 (39%) had latex, resin or mud that the workers mix with wax in order to save energy; one corbicula load of mud or resin substitutes for 12 to 15 loads of nectar if this nectar is to be transformed into wax. Ninety-nine bees (60.7%) brought pollen of a single species of plant, 38 (23.3%) of two species of plants and 26 (15.9%) of three or more types of pollen. Among pollen types 19 families and 25 genera were represented. Only 13 types of pollen were identifyed to species: Bellucia imperialis, Bixa orellana, Cordia lanata, Croton lanjouwensis, Eschweilera fracta, Inga edulis, Mauritia flexuosa, Mimosa pudica, Protium heptaphyllum, Stachytarpheta cayennensis, Tapirira guianensis, Vernonia scabra, Warszewiczia coccinea.