Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology

Project's information

Project's title	Discovery of little-known bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) in some Northwestern provinces of Vietnam and biological characteristics of the economic potential bee species.
Project’s code	ĐLTE00.04/22-23
Research hosting institution	Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources
Project leader’s name	Tran Thi Ngat
Project duration	01/01/2022 - 31/12/2023
Project’s budget	600 million VND
Classify	Excellent
Goal and objectives of the project	Determining the species composition, distribution of little-known bees in some Northwestern provinces of Vietnam, and biological characteristics of the economic potential stingless bee as a scientific basis for their domestication service to humans.
Main results	- Theoretical results: + Recording a total of 18 little-known bee species belonging to 13 genera of 4 families Apidae, Halictidae, Megachilidae, and Meliitidae from Northwestern Vietnam. In which, new discoveries for science comprise as follows: (i) a new subtribe, Noteriadina Engel, Tran & Nguyen, 2022; (ii) a new genus, Ebaiotrigona Engel & Nguyen, 2022; (iii) two new species, Bathanthidium paco Tran & Nguyen, 2021 and Noteriades hangkia Tran, Engel & Nguyen, 2022; three new records for the Vietnamese bee fauna, Thrinchostoma sladeni Cockerell, 1929, Anthidiellum carinatum (Wu, 1962) and Chelostoma aureocinctum (Bigham, 1897). + Determining Lepidotrigona flavibasis has potential in domestication, breeding, and colony development, aiming for commercial farming to exploit its products and use as a pollinator on some of the crops in the study area. + Providing information on the nest structure and morphological development stages of stingless bees with the most use potential in Northwestern Vietnam, Lepidotrigona flavibasis, as a basis for the domestication and development of the colony. - Applied results: The results and the publication of the project are contributions to the understanding of biodiversity in the Northwest region of Vietnam as well as the orientation of the high economic potential stingless bee. Moreover, this result can be used as a reference and teaching material in the field of insect diversity.
Novelty and actuality and scientific meaningfulness of the results	- The project has discovered new taxa for science as well as identified new records for Vietnamese bee fauna. - The results of the project have contributed to reflecting the current status of biodiversity in the Northwest region, which is the scientific basis for the sustainable development of the local economy and society. - The project has contributed to improving the research qualification of young researchers about insects in general and bees in particular.
Products of the project	- Scientific papers in referred journals (list): A. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL 1. N.T. Tran, M.S. Engel, L.X. Truong, L.T.P. Nguyen, First occurrence of the little-known genus Noteriades (Hymenoptera, Megachilidae) from Vietnam: discovery of a new species and a key to the Southeast Asian fauna, ZooKeys, 2022, 1102, 191–200 (Q1). 2. M.S. Engel, L.T.P. Nguyen, N.T. Tran, T.A. Truong, A.F.H. Motta, A new genus of minute stingless bees from Southeast Asia (Hymenoptera, Apidae), ZooKeys, 2022, 1089, 53–72 (Q1). 3. N.T. Tran, M.S. Engel, C.Q. Nguyen, D.D. Tran, L.T.P. Nguyen, The bee genus Anthidiellum Cockerell in Vietnam: Descriptions of five new species and the first male of Anthidiellum coronum (Hymenoptera, Megachilidae), ZooKeys, 2023, 1144, 171–196 (Q1). B. NATIONAL JOURNAL 4. Tran Thi Ngat, Dang Thi Hoa, Nguyen Thi Phuong Lien, Phan Thi Giang, Truong Thanh Truc, A contribution to the taxonomic knowledge of the genus Thrinchostoma (Thrinchostoma s. str.) Saussure (Hymenoptera: Halictidae) from Vietnam, with new records of three species and a key to species, Academia Journal of Biology, 2023, 45(1), 23-33 (VAST2). - Patents (list): - Technological products (describe in details: technical characteristics, place): + A report about “The species composition and distribution of little-known bees in some Northwestern provinces of Vietnam” + A report about “The biological characteristics of the economic potential stingless bee in some Northwestern provinces of Vietnam” - Other products (if applicable): support training 01 Ph.D.
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