Data and code from: Mapping the global range of stingless bees: Insights into their ecological niches and environmental tolerances
Abstract
Aim Stingless bees are the most species-rich group of eusocial bees, predominantly found in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. However, despite their diversity and importance, significant gaps remain in our understanding of their distribution patterns and the factors driving them, as these aspects have yet to be thoroughly investigated on a global scale. In this study, we aimed to fill this gap by mapping global habitat suitability for stingless bees. Location Global Taxon Stingless bees (Apidae:Apinae:Meliponini) Method We compiled over half a million spatiotemporal occurrence records from 361 species of stingless bees at an unprecedented scale from both public and private databases optimised using a recently published data-cleaning workflow. Through a species distribution model approach, we assessed the relationship between stingless bee distribution, diversity, and environmental factors, ultimately characterising their ecological niche and producing the first habitat suitability maps for the bee tribe Meliponini. Result Our results reveal significant discrepancies in occurrence records across the Neotropical, the Afrotropical, and the Indo-Malayan, Papuasian, and Australian regions, as well as among taxa. Habitat suitability hotspots were identified in tropical forests and were associated with relatively high temperatures and humidity throughout the year. Projection maps further suggested that some temperate, xeric, and savannah regions could also be suitable habitats for stingless bees. Our results rescale the known environmental niche of stingless bees, demonstrating that suitable habitats exist well beyond the tropical and subtropical boundaries typically described in the literature. Main conclusion This study presents a novel, model-based assessment of stingless bee distribution, revealing that it extends beyond tropical forests into drier, colder, and temperate regions more broadly than previously recognized. These findings highlight substantial gaps in ecological and distributional data, emphasizing the need for taxonomic revision, targeted fieldwork, digitisation of collections, and foundational research on stingless bee ecology and evolution. Addressing these gaps will improve predictions of species responses to environmental change, inform conservation strategies, and advance understanding of stingless bees as essential providers of ecosystem services.
Authors 28
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Université Libre de Bruxelles
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Naturalis Biodiversity Center
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Universidade de São Paulo
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National University of Singapore
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National University of Singapore
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Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
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Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
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Technical University of Munich
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Technical University of Munich
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Universidade Federal de Goiás
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Universidade Federal de Goiás
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University of Wollongong
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American Museum of Natural History
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American Museum of Natural History
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Vale Technological Institute
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Universidade de São Paulo · Vale Technological Institute
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Vale Technological Institute
Universidade de São Paulo
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National Research and Innovation Agency
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National Research and Innovation Agency
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Universiti Malaysia Kelantan
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University of Cape Coast
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Chulalongkorn University
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International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology
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International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology
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Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Stuttgart
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Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Stuttgart
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Institute of Natural Sciences
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Curtin University
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Aarhus University
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Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
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Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
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Vietnam National University of Agriculture
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Vietnam National University of Agriculture
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University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore
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University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore
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University of the Andes
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Chinese Academy of Sciences
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Chulalongkorn University
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Université Libre de Bruxelles
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