During a recent field trip in Amazonian Peru, a colleague of mine and I observed stingless bees (Trigona sp.) preying upon frog egg clutches deposited on vegetation above a temporary pond. I would like to know if other researchers have observed this behavior and if you can share any published/unpublished account(s) on this topic.
I had tiny red ants predating on terrestrial eggs of R. imitator at the ACR-CE Park at Tarapoto, 1000 m.
Trigona is a very common stingless bees in pig carcasses here in the Brazilian Amazon (Amazonas State), they have a common behavior in feeding on these carcasses in the early stages of decomposition. I believe she can preying these frog eggs.
I call Trigona DIRTY BEES- they go on many ugly stuff in the forest. No way to consume their honey.
Exactly, it is impossible to consume Trigona honey, unlike most Neotropical stingless bees species.
Thank you, Rainer and Alexandre, for sharing your observations. Interesting! I have also seen Trigona bees feeding on carcasses of different animals. In the upcoming months, I will share our observation of Trigona bees preying upon frog eggs ( in a short manuscript currently in review).
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