The evolution of a mutualism requires reciprocal interactions whereby one species provides
a service that the other species cannot perform or performs less efficiently. Services …

Stingless bees (Meliponini) are highly social bees that are native to tropical and sub-tropical
ecosystems. Resin use is vital to many aspects of stingless bee colony function. Stingless …

The global diversity of fungi has been estimated between 2 to 11 million species, of which
only about 155 000 have been named. Most fungi are invisible to the unaided eye, but they …

Beetles are hosts to a remarkable diversity of bacterial symbionts. In this article, we review
the role of these partnerships in promoting beetle fitness following a surge of recent studies …

The evolution of ant agriculture, as practised by the fungus-farming 'attine'ants, is thought to
have arisen in the wet rainforests of South America about 55–65 Ma. Most subsequent attine …

Bee–fungus associations are common, and while most studies focus on entomopathogens,
emerging evidence suggests that bees associate with a variety of symbiotic fungi that can …

While bee–angiosperm mutualisms are widely recognized as foundational partnerships that
have shaped the diversity and structure of terrestrial ecosystems, these ancient mutualisms …

Highlights•Meliponini, known as stingless bees, are a monophyletic group of eusocial
insects.•The microbiota of Meliponini includes viruses, bacteria, yeasts, and filamentous …

Teeming within pollen provisions are diverse communities of symbiotic microbes, which
provide a variety of benefits to bees. Microbes themselves may represent a major dietary …

The larval stage of the stingless bee Scaptotrigona depilis must consume a specific brood
cell fungus in order to continue development. Here we show that this fungus is a member of …