Paratrigona subnuda, commonly known as the jataí-da-terra ("ground jataí"), is a species of eusocial stingless bee in the family Apidae and tribe Meliponini.

[2] P. subnuda’s main source of food is pollen and nectar from a large variety of native Mesoamerican tropical plants.

[1] P. subnuda belongs to the family Apidae, but far exceed the diversity and habitat distribution in comparison to honeybees.

[4] Stingless bees arose as a pivotal force in the Neotropics at the end of the Cretaceous period.

[5] P. subnuda belongs to the Meliponini tribe, which is defined by distinctive phenotypic differences of dorsal vessels.

As a member of the Meliponini tribe, P. subnuda bees also express distinctive dorsal vessel phenotypes.

This includes an arch formed by the dorsal vessels between the thorax longitudinal muscles, creating a forward migrated position of the abdominal ganglia and extended digestive tract.

In general, Meliponini members also tend to have a denser hair covering, shorter wings, and are larger than their Trigonini tribe counterparts.

The P. subnuda worker is 0.5-0.8 cm in size and have a smaller head and thorax compared to queen bees.

[5] P. subnuda bees are found in Neotropical moist forests and urban areas in South America.

Within the outer protective involucrum layer is the helicoid brood comb, which contain eggs’ cells.

[3] These nests are built underground in moist and soft Neotropical soil, and are normally less than one meter deep.

[10] New colony formation is a progressive process within stingless bee species and have been specifically observed in P. subnuda.

The queen will lay her egg on top of this food and then the cell will be closed rapidly by the workers.

[9] Stingless bees, including P. subnuda, have distinctive divisions of labor conducted by different ages and in relation of needs.

But researchers are able to observe when they do give out syrup based on when there is an interruption in the zigzag pattern, such as a sharp turn in a semicircle.

In P. subnuda, the males do not congregate at the front of the entrance of virgin queens newly established colony.

These factors include temperature, luminous intensity, relative humidity, rain and wind levels.

Their foraging behaviors can also be influenced by biotic factors which include availability of floral resources, their physiology and internal conditions of the colony (food supply and queen productivity).

The bee species, Geotrigona mombuca, is found in the same subterranean habitat and has a similar foraging activity patterns above 22.0 °C.

P. subnuda is particularly active in the upper strata as they are “pre-adapted” to forage while exposed to direct sunlight due to their large surface to volume ratio.

When the virgin queens become “attractive,” they develop tergal and mandibular glands and maintain contact with workers.

[13] P. subnuda and other members of the tribe Meliponini show distinct behavior towards the gynes or royal eggs.

[18] Due to the single mating behavior, P. subnuda show a haplodiploid genetic structure of social Hymenoptera bees.

[4] With their high relatedness, workers gain an extraordinary indirect fitness benefit from helping the queen rear their sisters.

As a result of this conflict, worker bees actually contribute 64% of the male progeny within a single colony.

They get their pollen and nectar from over 200 plant species within neotropical environments, including Zanthoxylum hyemale and Baccharis milleflora.

[22] P. subnuda are considered to be generalists because their diet consists of pollen and nectar collected from a very large number of floral sources.