Artículo

Melipona quadrifasciata is an eusocial stingless bee traditionally used for honey production in Brazil. In the last decades, the species disappeared from the wild in Southern Brazil, being kept exclusively in managed colonies for commercial and recreational purposes. Stingless beekeepers from this region report annual losses of their colonies due to a syndrome of yet unknown causes. We investigate whether it is associated to pathogenic microorganisms already known to cause disease in bees. These results provide a starting point for future studies aimed at clarifying the relationship between the microbial community of stingless bees and their colony collapses.