The generalist (polytrophic) pattern of floral resource use by eusocial bees, such as A. mellifera, that intensively exploit the most available resources in their foraging area has been demonstrated by several authors (Cortopassi-Laurino and Ramalho, 1988; Wilms et al., 1996).
In light of the elevated abundance of Africanized honeybees that forage on a wide range of plants (many of which are also utilized by diverse species of native bees) in the Canudos region, pollen studies evaluating the overlap of trophic niches should be able of detecting possible competitive pressure exerted by Apis mellifera on native species. Therefore, these studies assist us to understand ecological processes related to the maintenance of insect and plant groups peculiar to xeric regions.