Native Bees as Key Pollinators of Açaí (Euterpe oleracea) in the Central Amazon

The açaí palm (Euterpe oleracea) is a key economic resource in the Amazon region. Despite this, studies on its floral visitors in Amazonas state remains scarce, outdated, lack species identifications and inferences about their role as pollinators. This study aimed to identify the floral visitor community and potential pollinators of an açaí crop in the central Amazon. From August 2018 to May 2019, we monitored the visits on 14 pistillate and 11 staminate inflorescences from 20 plants and calculated two indices: relative importance and pollen-transport efficiency, to identify the main potential pollinators. We collected 1656 insects from 111 species, mainly stingless bees (45.77%) and other native bees (33.32%). Ranking values identified Trigona williana Friese and Partamona ferreirai Pedro & Camargo as the principal contributors to pollen flow, followed by Trigona dallatorreana Friese and Frieseomelitta trichocerata Moure. This ranking method represents a key innovation of our study. Using these indices, we identify species contributing most to pollen flow while retaining information on the importance and efficiency of all taxa. Our findings reinforce the role of native bees in açaí pollination and provide potential target species for regional management.