Trigona spinipes is a generalist species of stingless bee that is dominant in many pollination networks and has a wide distribution in the tropics and subtropics of the Neotropics. This eusocial species builds exposed aerial nests in tree branches. Although some studies have been carried out on nest density, there are surprisingly few studies on its bionomy, and especially on the population size of the colonies. To survey the density and spatial patterns of nests of this stingless bee, three sites within the Northeast region in Brazil were studied, which ranged from urban to rural to forest habitats. A high density of nests was found in rural and urban sites, with 0.6 nests/ha and 0.4 nests/ha, respectively. In comparison, a lower density was found in the forest site, with 0.1 nests/ha in the edge and 0.03 nests/ha in the interior. Thus, the highest density of nests occurred in open areas. In the urban site, the nests showed a uniform distribution, while the distribution was aggregated in the rural site. The majority of nests were oriented so that the entrance faced the opposite direction to prevailing winds. Several aspects of the bionomy of 22 nests were sampled. The mean estimated total population size of colonies (immatures plus imagoes) was 38,813 (range 25,581–53,083) individuals, with 13,202 adults. Our results confirm that this species produces some of the largest colonies within the stingless bees, although lower than previously mentioned, emphasizing its importance in ecosystems of open neotropical areas.

三角藻是无刺蜂的多面性物种，在许多授粉网络中占主导地位，并广泛分布于新热带地区的热带和亚热带地区。这种社会性物种在树枝上建造暴露的空中巢穴。尽管对巢密度进行了一些研究，但令人惊讶的是，对其生物学，特别是对群体规模的研究却很少。为了调查这种无刺蜂巢穴的密度和空间格局，对巴西东北地区的三个地点进行了研究，范围从城市到农村再到森林栖息地。农村和城市地区的巢密度较高，分别为 0.6 个/公顷和 0.4 个/公顷。相比之下，森林地点的密度较低，边缘为0.1个巢/公顷，内部为0.03个巢/公顷。因此，空旷地区的巢穴密度最高。在城市站点，巢穴呈现均匀分布，而在乡村站点则呈现聚集分布。大多数巢穴的方向都是使入口面向与盛行风相反的方向。对 22 个巢穴的生物学的几个方面进行了采样。群落（幼虫加成虫）的平均估计总种群规模为 38,813 只（范围 25,581-53,083），其中成虫 13,202 只。我们的结果证实，该物种在无刺蜂中产生了一些最大的蜂群，尽管低于前面提到的，强调了其在开放新热带地区生态系统中的重要性。大多数巢穴的方向都是使入口面向与盛行风相反的方向。对 22 个巢穴的生物学的几个方面进行了采样。群落（幼虫加成虫）的平均估计总种群规模为 38,813 只（范围 25,581-53,083），其中成虫 13,202 只。我们的结果证实，该物种在无刺蜂中产生了一些最大的蜂群，尽管低于前面提到的，强调了其在开放新热带地区生态系统中的重要性。大多数巢穴的方向都是使入口面向与盛行风相反的方向。对 22 个巢穴的生物学的几个方面进行了采样。群落（幼虫加成虫）的平均估计总种群规模为 38,813 只（范围 25,581-53,083），其中成虫 13,202 只。我们的结果证实，该物种在无刺蜂中产生了一些最大的蜂群，尽管低于前面提到的，强调了其在开放新热带地区生态系统中的重要性。