Nesting and foraging behaviour of the solitary bee Epanthidium tigrinum (Schrottky, 1905) bred in trap nests

Vitória Vitória Inna Mary de Sousa Muniz, Larysson Feitosa Santos, Pedro De Assis de Oliveira, David Rezende da Silveira, Breno Magalhães Freitas

Resumo


The bee Epanthidium tigrinum is native to Brazil and shows potential for use in pollinating agricultural crops. However, the little information available concerning its reproductive and feeding habits has prevented any rational breeding or management of these bees. The aim of this study was to investigate their acceptance of trap nests, and their nesting and foraging behaviour, with a view to understanding the potential of the species for rational breeding. Trap nests were offered, and the females were observed for 16 months to monitor the establishment, building and closing of nests, as well as their architecture and the behaviour of the bees when searching for the resources used to build and provision the nests. The results showed that E. tigrinum performs well in trap nests; prefers cavities with a diameter of around 0.45 cm; depends on other plant resources besides pollen and nectar, such as leaves, fibres and resins, to build its nest; and remains active throughout the year. The study concluded that the species has the potential for use in agricultural pollination programs; however the observed nesting requirements must be taken into account, both in conservation efforts and in zootechnical exploitation when breeding the bee for agricultural pollination, as both can influence the number of constructed nests and cells, and consequently, the size of the pollinator population.

Palavras-chave


Beekeeping. Nest-building. Floral resources. Non-floral resources. Seasonality.

Texto completo:

PDF (English)

Referências


ALVES-DOS-SANTOS, I. Conhecimento e criação de abelhas solitárias: um desafio. Revista Tecnologia e Ambiente, v.10, n.2, p.99-113, 2004.

BOSCH, J.; KEMP, W.P. Developing and establishing bee species as crop pollinators: the example of Osmia spp. (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) and fruit trees. Bulletin of Entomological Research, v.92, n.1, p.3-16, 2002.

BOSCH, J. et al. Use of a managed solitary bee to pollinate almonds: population sustainability and increased fruit set. Insects, v. 12, n. 1, p. 56, 2021.

CAMAROTTI-DE-LIMA, M.F.; MARTINS, C. F. Biologia de nidificação e aspectos ecológicos de Anthodioctes lunatus (Smith) (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae, Anthidiini) em área de tabuleiro nordestino, PB. Neotropical Entomology, v. 34, n. 3, p. 375-380, 2005.

CHUI, S. X.; KELLER, A.; LEONHARDT, S.D.. Functional resin use in solitary bees. Ecological Entomology, 10.1111/een.13103, 2021.

COLLETT, M.; CHITTKA, L.; COLLETT, T. S. Spatial memory in insect navigation. Current Biology, v. 23, n.17, p. R789-R800, 2013.

COSTA, C.C.F.; GONÇALVES, R.B. What do we know about Neotropical trap-nesting bees? Synopsis about their nest biology and taxonomy. Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia, v. 59, e20195926, 2019.

DANFORTH, B. N. et al. The solitary bees: biology, evolution, conservation. 1.ed. New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2019. 488p.

FARZAN, S.; YANG, L.H. Experimental shifts in phenology affect fitness, foraging, and parasitism in a native solitary bee. Ecology, v. 99, n. 10, p. 2187-2195, 2018.

FREITAS, B.M. et al. Forest remnants enhance wild pollinator visits to cashew flowers and mitigate pollination deficit in NE Brazil. Journal of Pollination Ecology, v. 12, n.4, p. 22-30, 2014.

GALETTO, L. et al. Risks and opportunities associated with pollinators’ conservation and management of pollination services in Latin America. Ecología Austral, v. 32, n.1, p. 55-76, 2022.

GUIMARÃES-BRASIL et al. Occupation and emergence of solitary bees in different types of trap nests. Sociobiology, v. 66, n.2, p. 316-326, 2019.

GOMES, A.M.S. et al. Bionomy and nesting behavior of the bee Epanthidium tigrinum (Schrottky, 1905) (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) in trap-tests. Sociobiology, v. 67, n.2, p. 247-255, 2020.

INSTITUTO DE PESQUISA E ESTRATÉGIA ECONÔMICA DO CEARÁ (IPECE). Perfil Municipal 2017. Fortaleza-CE, 2017. Disponível em: https://www.ipece.ce.gov.br/wp-content/uploads/sites/45/2018/09/Fortaleza_2017.pdf. Acesso em 20 jul. 2019.

KLEIN, A.M.; STEFFAN‐DEWENTER, I.; TSCHARNTKE, T. Foraging trip duration and density of megachilid bees, eumenid wasps and pompilid wasps in tropical agroforestry systems. Journal of Animal Ecology, v. 73, n. 3, p. 517-525, 2004.

KOPPEN, W. Klassification der Klimate nach Temperatur, Niederschlag und Jahreslauf. Petermanns Geographische Mitteilungen, v. 64, p. 193-203. 1918.

KROMBEIN, K.V. Trap-nesting wasps and bees: life histories, nests and associates. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1967. 570p.

MELLO, B. N. S.; GAGLIANONE, M. C. Nesting biology of sympatric species of Megachilidae bees in a conservation area in Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Sociobiology, v. 66, n.1, p. 52-60, 2019.

MESQUITA, T. M. S.; AUGUSTO, S. C. Diversity of trap-nesting bees and their natural enemies in the Brazilian savanna. Tropical Zoology, v. 24, n.2, p. 127-144, 2011.

MICHENER, C.D. Evolution of the nests of bees. American Zoologist, v.4, n.1, p. 227-239, 1964.

MICHENER, C.D. The bees of the world. 2.ed. Baltimore: JHU Press, 2007. 953p.

NEFF, J.L. Components of nest provisioning behavior in solitary bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea). Apidologie, v. 39, n. 1, p. 30-45, 2008.

PARIZOTTO, D.R; MELO, G.A.R. Nests of bees of the anthidiine genus Ananthidium Urban (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Megachilinae). Journal of Hymenoptera Research, v. 47, p. 115-122, 2015.

PARIZOTTO, D. R.; URBAN, D.; MELO, G. A. Phylogeny and generic classification of the Anthidiini bees from the Neotropical region (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, v.194, n.1, p. 80–101, 2022.

PARKER, F.D. Nesting, associates, and mortality of Osmia sanrafaelae Parker. Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society, v.59, n.2, p. 367-377, 1986.

ROUBIK, D.W. Ecology and natural history of tropical bees. 1.ed. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1992. 514p.

SANTOS, A.A. et al. Nesting biology and flower preferences of Megachile (Sayapis) zaptlana. Journal of Apicultural Research, v. 59, n. 4, p. 609-625, 2020.

TÖLKE, E.D. et al. Diversity of floral glands and their secretions in pollinator attraction.

In MÉRILLON, J.M.; RAMAWAT, K. Co-Evolution of Secondary Metabolites. Reference Series in Phytochemistry. 1.ed. New York: Springer, 2020. cap. 28, p. 709-754.

URBAN, D.; MOURE, J.S. Anthidiini Ashmead. 1899 In MOURE, J.S.; URBAN, D.; MELO, G.A.R. Catalogue of Bees (Hymenoptera, Apoidea) in the Neotropical Region- online version. 2012. Disponível em: http://moure.cria.org.br/catalogue. Acesso em 20 jul. 2019.

VANDENBERG, J.D. Nesting preferences of the solitary bee Osmia sanrafaelae (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae). Journal of economic entomology, v. 88, n. 3, p. 592-599, 1995.




Revista Ciência Agronômica ISSN 1806-6690 (online) 0045-6888 (impresso), Site: www.ccarevista.ufc.br, e-mail: ccarev@ufc.br - Fone: (85) 3366.9702 - Expediente: 2ª a 6ª feira - de 7 às 17h.