Nesting Behavior of Centris (Hemisiella) vittata Lepeletier (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in an area of the cerrado in the northeast of the State of Maranhão, Brazil

Abstract

-The nesting behavior of Centris (Hemisiella) vittata Lepeletier was studied in the Urbano Santos Cerrado in the northeast of Maranhão State, Brazil. To date, this species has only been studied in trap-nests. The nesting behavior of this species in a natural condition is recorded for the fi rst time. Nesting occurred in preexisting holes in dead trunks of aroeira, Astronium myracrodruon (Anacardiaceae), at the end of the rainy season. The cells were constructed with a mixture of sand and oil. After fi nishing the nests, females used only oil to line the entrance wall. Two females collected sand at the same time to build their nests, and another one was seen collecting resources at Byrsonima sp. (Malpighiaceae). The pollen load of one bee was analyzed and was found to contain mainly Hymenaea courbaril (Leg-Caesalpiniaceae). Development from egg to adult took about 60 days. Protandry was observed, being males smaller than females. The nests were parasitized by Coleoptera and Diptera. However, the females only showed aggressive behavior against females of the same species or genus. KEY WORDS: Solitary bee, nest, preexisting hole, bionomy Centridini bees are solitary, medium to large sized species which use different kinds of nesting substrata. The tribe includes species that excavate simple or compound nests in fl at ground or in vertical banks (Vinson & Frankin 1988, Batra & Schuster 1977, Rozen & Buchmann 1990, Aguiar & Gaglianone 2003. Other species build their nests in holes of wood, such as tree trunks, inside termitaria or use preexisting cavities, such as cells abandoned by wasps or other bees (Coville et al 1983, Silva et al 2001, Aguiar et al 2006, Ramos et al 2007a, old beetle boring (Michener & Lange 1958) and trap-nests (Garófalo et al 1989, Pereira et al 1999, Aguiar & Garófalo 2004, Mendes & Rêgo 2007.These bees are considered effective pollinators for a variety of plant species, particularly "oil plants" such as Malpighiaceae, Krameriaceae and Scrophulariaceae (Vogel 1974, Neff & Simpson 1981, Buchmann 1987, Rêgo & Albuquerque 1989.Due to the essential ecological role played by these bees in a wide range of fl oral communities, studies of the biology of these species are important for conservational efforts to be developed for solitary bees and the plant species they pollinate. The aim of this study was to provide data on the nesting behavior of Centris vittata Lepeletier, a species distributed in several Brazilian ecosystems. Material and MethodsThe study was carried out in an area predominated by Cerrado fragments in the municipality of Urbano Santos (3º12'28'' S, 43º24'12'' W), northeast of Maranhão State, in Santo Amaro farm, owned by Comercial & Agrícola Paineiras, about 500 km from São Luís. The main soil types are sandy (well drained and with low natural fertility), quartz sand and red-yellow latosol. The dominant vegetation is that typically found in the Cerrado, although seasonal semideciduous forests and patches of mixed vegetation may also be found (Brasil 1984). The area, where ...

Nesting biology and potential distribution of an oil-collecting Centridine Bee from South America

“…(Hemisiella ) cover the outer surface of the nest plug with an oily substance. This fact has been observed in C. nitida (Vinson et al 2010), C. trigonoides (Aguiar et al 2006, Vinson et al 2010, C. tarsata (Aguiar and Garófalo 2004), C. vittata (Pereira et al 1999;Ramos et al 2010;Vinson et al 2010), and now for C. merrillae . This character has also been described for C. analis (Jesus and Garófalo 2000) and C. bicornuta Mocsáry (Frankie et al 1988), two species belonging to the subgenus C .…”

“…Usually, the cells where males grow are built closer to the nest's entrance, while the females' cells are built in the lower part of the nest. Apparently, this facilitates the adult emergence in protandric species, like C. dichrootricha (Morato et al 1999), C. tarsata (Silva et al 2001), C. vittata (Pereira et al 1999;Ramos et al 2010), and C. merrillae . However, in one of the nests studied here of this latter species, the females emerged first, being an exception to the apparently widely observed pattern in the species of the subgenus.…”

Nesting habits of Centris (Hemisiella) dichrootricha (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in the Northern Cerrado of Brazil

“…The parasite Coelioxys sp. is common for Centris species and has been observed for C. vittata, C. tarsata and C. trigonoides (Morato et al, 1999;Pereira et al, 1999;Aguiar & Garófalo, 2004;Buschini & Wolff, 2006;Mendes & Rêgo, 2007;Ramos et al, 2010).…”

“…(Anacardiaceae) (Ramos, Rêgo, & Albuquerque, 2007a;Ramos et al, 2010) and the biology of C. tarsata nesting in artificial cavities (Mendes & Rêgo, 2007). In such studies, trap-nests are important for bee species within a given study location to determine bee biology and behavior (Camillo et al, 1995).…”

“…In C. tarsata nests, two parallel rows of cells may be found (Mendes & Rêgo, 2007;Mesquita, Vilhena, & Augusto, 2009). For larval feeding, the bees use pollen, nectar and oil (Aguiar & Garófalo, 2004;Aguiar et al, 2006;Vinson et al, 2010), and the pollen and oil resources mainly include pollen from Byrsonima (Mendes & Rêgo, 2007;Pemberton & Liu, 2008;Ramos, Albuquerque, & Rêgo, 2010;Dórea, Aguiar, Figueroa, Lima, & Santos, 2013 Lepeletier, 1841(Camillo, Garófalo, Serrano, & Muccillo, 1995Morato, Garcia, & Campos, 1999;Garófalo, Martins, & Alves-dos Santos, 2004;Aguiar et al, 2006;Vinson et al, 2010). Of these, C. nitida occurs in Costa Rica (Vinson et al, 2010), C. tarsata is the most prevalent in Brazilian biomes (Viana, Silva, & Kleinert, 2001;Aguiar & Garófalo, 2004;Buschini, 2006;Mendes & Rêgo, 2007;Mesquita & Augusto, 2011), and C. vittata is the second-most prevalent in trap-nests (Camillo et al, 1995;Mesquita et al, 2009;Mesquita & Augusto, 2011) followed by C. trigonoides (Aguiar et al, 2006).…”