Harvesting the Casualties of War: Macrogerodonia peruviana Rove Beetles Prey Exclusively Upon Wounded Trigona spp. Stingless Bees (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae; Hymenoptera: Apidae)

Journal article

Social insects represent a major component of tropical forest biomass, yet the ecological fate of their necromass remains poorly understood. Stingless bees (Apidae: Meliponini), particularly species in the genus Trigona, frequently engage in aggressive, sometimes lethal conflicts while competing for nutrient‐rich resources such as carrion. Here we report a previously undescribed trophic interaction in which rove beetles of the species Macrogerodonia peruviana (Staphylinidae) prey exclusively on wounded or recently killed Trigona workers. Field observations and cafeteria choice experiments showed that beetles consistently preyed on injured Trigona spp. bees, ignoring carrion and alternative invertebrates, including flies, grasshoppers, and other stingless bee genera. This behavior was observed at different sites in Peru and Costa Rica, suggesting this interaction is geographically widespread. Our observations indicate a previously undescribed, highly specialized trophic interaction linking social insect warfare to predator specialization, emphasizing the ecological significance of social insect necromass in structuring tropical forest food webs.

Authors: Rivera, E; Lopera, A; Castro, R; Pottie, S; Forsyth, A

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Wiley
• Journal: Ecology and Evolution
• Volume: 16
• Issue: 6
• Article number: e73850
• Publication date: 2026-06-18
• Acceptance date: 2026-06-03
• DOI: 10.1002/ece3.73850
• EISSN: 2045-7758
• ISSN: 2045-7758
• Language: English
• Keywords: predation; Trigona; Staphylinidae; necrophagy; rainforest; Macrogerodonia; stingless bees