Four-Striped Melipona

Four-Striped Melipona

Melipona quadrifasciata

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Belo Horizonte

In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%

5 Verified sightings at Belo Horizonte
6 In 1 park From 2019 to 2026
December Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Four-Striped Melipona

Melipona quadrifasciata is a species of eusocial, stingless bee of the order Hymenoptera. It is native to the southeastern coastal states of Brazil, where it is more commonly known as mandaçaia, which means "beautiful guard," as there is always a bee at the narrow entrance of the nest. M. quadrifasciata constructs mud hives in the hollows of trees to create thin passages that only allow one bee to pass at a time. Because they are stingless bees, M. quadrifasciata are often used as pollinators in greenhouses, outperforming honey bees in efficiency and leading to overall larger yields of fruits that are heavier, larger, and contain more seeds.

Melipona quadrifasciata is a member of the family Apidae and the order Hymenoptera. M. quadrifasciata is in the subfamily Meliponini which is commonly referred to as "stingless bees". The genus Melipona includes nearly 50 other species. M. quadrifasciata can be categorized into two subspecies: M. quadrifasciata quadrifasciata which occupies the northern range of the species, and M. quadrifasciata anthidioides which are more often found in the southern range. However, there is a large hybrid area where the subspecies overlap.

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Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Tijuca National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%

More parks will be added in future updates.

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Curitiba 🇧🇷 Brazil
~10%
2 São Paulo 🇧🇷 Brazil
~10%
3 Porto Alegre 🇧🇷 Brazil
~10%
4 Rio de Janeiro 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
5 Belo Horizonte 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Four-Striped Melipona in Belo Horizonte?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Four-Striped Melipona sighting in Belo Horizonte on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 162nd most-seen of the 186 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Four-Striped Melipona in Belo Horizonte?

April, August–September and December

In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Four-Striped Melipona in Belo Horizonte on a given day, against under 5% in January–March, May–July and October–November, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Four-Striped Melipona?

Between 9 am and noon

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Four-Striped Melipona sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Belo Horizonte the best place to see a Four-Striped Melipona?

5th of 5

Of the 5 cities where we can rate Four-Striped Melipona sightings, Belo Horizonte ranks 5th at under 5%. The best odds are in Curitiba (Brazil, about 10%), São Paulo (Brazil, about 10%) and Porto Alegre (Brazil, about 10%).

Which relatives of the Four-Striped Melipona live in Belo Horizonte?

Same family: Apidae

The closest relatives of the Four-Striped Melipona that you can see in Belo Horizonte (family Apidae, Honey Bees, Bumble Bees, and Allies) are Narrow Stingless Bee (about 10%), Spiny-Legged Stingless Bee (about 10%) and Grayish Carpenter (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Four-Striped Melipona sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Four-Striped Melipona is recorded against all the insects logged in Belo Horizonte (5 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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