Homotrigona (Homotrigona) fimbriata Smith, 1857

Ascher, John S., Soh, Zestin W. W., Chui, Shao Xiong, Soh, Eunice J. Y., Ho, Benjamin M., Lee, John X. Q., Gajanur, Anya R. & Ong, Xin Rui, 2022, The bees of Singapore (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Anthophila): First comprehensive country checklist and conservation assessment for a Southeast Asian bee fauna, Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 70, pp. 39-64 : 46

4. Homotrigona (Homotrigona) fimbriata Smith, 1857 , Bristle-faced Stingless Bee

Wallace captured the type worker in Singapore, perhaps in the Bukit Timah vicinity, ca. 1854 ( Ascher et al., 2019). There are no subsequent records from Singapore, although the species persists in Peninsular Malaysia. Such a large-bodied and conspicuous species is unlikely to have been overlooked by all subsequent studies ( Schwarz, 1939; Sakagami, 1975; Liow et al., 2001). We have not observed this species at PBS, raising concerns about its conservation status in Johor and elsewhere in southern Peninsular Malaysia. A distinctively orange form is confirmed to persist on Tioman Island, i.e., distinctively coloured material discussed by Schwarz (1939) has proven to be characteristic of an insular population as opposed to a trait unique to a callow or otherwise anomalous individual worker bee.