Broad Protein Spectrum in Stored Pollen of Three Stingless Bees from the Chaco Dry Forest in South America (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Meliponini) and Its Ecological Implications

Table 1

Main pollen types (>10% representation) present in pollen mass samples of Tetragonisca fiebrigi (Tf), Melipona orbignyi (Mo), and Geotrigona argentina (Ga) and their nitrogen and protein percentages.

Bee species	Sample	Nest and pollen mass	Main pollen types	Nitrogen (%)	Crude protein (%)
Tf	1	5 B	Type Schinopsis (59%) + Trithrinax  schizophylla (40.5%)	3.055	19.09
	2	5 C	Trithrinax  schizophylla (41%) + Parthenium hysterophorus (30%) + type Schinopsis (28%)	2.854	17.84
	3	5 E	Trithrinax  schizophylla (98%)	2.898	18.11
	4	7 A	Sideroxylon obtusifolium (24%) + Prosopis (18%) + type Maytenus vitis-idaea (16%) + Tabebuia (13%)	3.126	19.54
	5	7 F	Capparis speciosa (42%) + Mascagnia brevifolia (34%) + Heliantheae (10%)	3.648	22.80
	6	12 C	Ziziphus mistol (60%) + Prosopis (30%)	3.542	22.14
Mo	7	11	Type Acacia praecox (53%) + Prosopis (38%)	3.881	24.26
Ga	8	4 58	Type Capparis  tweediana-C. speciosa (100%)	1.56	9.78
	9	1 24	Castela coccinea (100%)	3.26	20.36
	10	2 31	Prosopis (100%)	3.34	20.87
	11	1 11	Prosopis (91%)	4.86	30.41
	12	2 36	Prosopis (89.5%)	4.32	27.03
	13	2 33	Type Maytenus vitis-idaea (100%)	4.23	26.87
	14	2 42	Type Maytenus vitis-idaea (96%)	4.24	26.51
	15	1 16	Type Croton (30%) + type Sagittaria (18%) + Eleocharis (12%) + Castela coccinea (11%)	2.65	16.59