Trigona fulviventris, known by the common names culo-de-vaca, culo-de-señora, mu'ul-kab, culo-de-buey, and culo-de-vieja, is a species of stingless bee found in Mexico and neotropical regions of Central and South America.
[4] Trigona fulviventris individuals are morphologically characterized by the expression of two projections, called tubercles on their labra as well as the presence of four mandibular teeth.
Known species of plant from which T. fulviventris feeds are Passiflora vitifolia, Pavonia dasypetala, Heliconia imbricata, Quassia amara, Dioclea, Lantana camara, Tabebuia, Asystasia, Insertia, Psychotria, Stromanthe, Justicia aurea, Heliconia tortuosa, Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, Impatiens walleriana, and Fuchsia.
[4] Trigona fulviventris nests are made in the ground, often near buttresses and roots of large trees, and have also been found in urban areas (particularly in crevices in walls of buildings).
[7] These bees have been shown to mark these sites with pheromones, often leaving odor trails to lead to desirable nest locations.
[7] Once it is determined which workers will inhabit the new area, gynes (reproductive females) will mate with a swarm of males mid-flight and enter the new nest to initiate a new colony.
[7] Spatio-temporal (also called time-place) learning behavior, which is the ability of an individual to associate the time and place of an event especially in foraging, has been documented in T.
[8] The presence of spatio-temporal learning in foraging T. fulviventris bees suggests that it is an ecologically favorable behavior.
[3] The heads of T. fulviventris workers have been analyzed for the presence of chemicals that can act as pheromones and attack signals.
[3] Nerol release has been shown to decrease the number of bees leaving the nest by nearly half, while increasing behaviors such as biting and wing vibration.
[7] As explained earlier, nest initiation occurs when one or more workers mark an attractive site with pheromones.
[7] If the two opposing colonies are represented by about the same number of workers, then the encounter results in a "stalemate" and neither group inhabits the marked site.
[7] Trigona fulviventris individuals are capable of distinguishing nestmates from non-nestmates through recognition of a range of compounds.
[11] In contrast, a large difference in signal is more likely to be noticed immediately and aggressive behaviors can occur more quickly, decreasing the mean latency.
[12] The sticky resin used by T. fulviventris workers in building their nests has been prized by Colombian fisherman as an effective means of caulking fishing canoes that have sprung leaks.