Stingless bees were collected between 1984 and 1990 in continuous forest, forest fragments and cleared areas 90 Km north of Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil. Several methods were employed. a total of 54 species of 21 genera were collected including two undescribed species of Plebeia Schwarz, 1938. The most abundant genera were Trigona Jurine, 1807; Melipona Illiger, 1806; Partamona Schwarz, 1939 and Tetragona Lepeletier, 1825. The most abundant species were Trigona crassipes (Fabricius, 1793) and T. fulviventris Guérin, 1835. Fruit fly traps baited with fragrances for euglossine bees showed to be an useful method for stingless bee collection too. The study area showed a great richness in relation to other regions of the world. However the density of nests found from a 100ha area of continuous forest were low (1 nest/6.67ha). The consequences of deforestation on stingless bees populations and of the decrease of these on the forest conservation are also discussed.
Diversity; nest density; conservation; Amazônia; stingless bees