''Melipona capixaba'', commonly known as uruçu negra (black uruçu) in Brazil, is a species of eusocial stingless bees of the order Hymenoptera. It is endemic to the mountainous region of the State of

Espirito Santo ''Espirito'' (Brazilian for "Spirit") is the second album by Lawson Rollins. Rollins composed all of the music and co-produced the album with Persian-American musician and producer Shahin Shahida (of Shahin & Sepehr) and multi-platinum producer Do ...

, Brazil. Since 2003, it has been included on the list of threatened species produced by the Brazilian Ministry of the Environment, and is the only

eusocial insect Eusociality (from Greek εὖ ''eu'' "good" and social), the highest level of organization of sociality, is defined by the following characteristics: cooperative brood care (including care of offspring from other individuals), overlapping generat ...

on this list.Ramos, Josemar de Carvalho
Estrutura genética de Melipona capixaba Moure e Camargo
1994 (Hymenoptera: Apidae): UFV, Viçosa - 2009. The bee is responsible for pollinating orchids within its distribution. In

, it is considered as a flagship species and has been used to raise awareness about the environmental impacts caused by deforestation.

Etymology

The common name ''uruçu'' comes from

Tupi Tupi may refer to: * Tupi people of Brazil * Tupi or Tupian languages, spoken in South America ** Tupi language, an extinct Tupian language spoken by the Tupi people * Tupi oil field off the coast of Brazil * Tupi Paulista, a Brazilian municipalit ...

"''eiru su''", which in the indigenous language means "big bee".

Conservation

Due to the

endemism Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

and small population size, this species was not discovered until 1994 is now considered “vulnerable to extinction”.Nogueira, Juliano · Ramos, Josemar de Carvalho · Benevenuto, Juliana · Fernandes-Salomão, Tânia Maria · Resende, Helder Canto · Campos, Lucio Antonio de Oliveira Campos · Tavares, Mara Garcia
Conservation study of an endangered stingless bee (Melipona capixaba—Hymenoptera: Apidae) with restricted distribution in Brazil
Journal of Insect Conservation 18(3):317-326 · May 2014. Despite its ecological importance as pollinator few studies have examined the ecology and biology of this bee.Helder C. Resende; Fábio de Barros; Lúcio A.O. Campos; Tânia M. Fernandes-Salomão
Visitation of orchid
by Melipona capixaba Moure & Camargo (Hymenoptera: Apidae), bee threatened with extinction. Neotrop. entomol. vol.37 no.5 Londrina Sept./Oct. 2008. Given its endemism, local adaptation and low number of natural colonies, efforts for the conservation of ''Melipona capixaba'' should focus on preservation and increasing the number of colonies in the wild, so that ''M. capixaba'' can withstand the effects of habitat deforestation in Espírito Santo State.

References

External links

* Videos showing hives of ''Melipona capixaba''

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2678455 Melipona, capixaba Endemic fauna of Brazil Hymenoptera of South America Hymenoptera of Brazil Environment of Espírito Santo Insects described in 1994