Interactions between carpenter bees and orchid bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in flowers of Bertholletia excelsa Bonpl. (Lecythidaceae)

Abstract

Competition between two species of bees for the same type of floral resource may generate antagonistic behavior between them, especially in cultivated areas where food resources are limited, seasonally and locally. In this study, was tested the hypothesis of antagonism between two solitary bee species of the family Apidae, Eulaema mocsaryi (Euglossini) and Xylocopa frontalis (Xylocopini), visiting the Brazil nut flowers (Bertholletia excelsa: Lecythidaceae) in a central Amazonia agricultural area. The visitation time was analyzed to detect the possible temporal overlap in the foraging of these bees. Furthermore, was analyzed their interspecific interactions for manipulating flower species visited by an opponent species, as well as attempts to attack this opponent. The individuals of Xylocopa frontalis visited the Brazil nut flowers before Eulaema mocsaryi, although the peak visitation of both did not presented significant differences. Neither of the species manipulated flowers recently visited by opponent species, and there were practically no antagonistic interactions between them. Thus, X. frontalis and E. mocsaryi shared the same food source in the flowers of B. excelsa due to differences in their time of visits and non-aggressive way of interacting with the opponent. This result has important implications for pollinating the Brazil nut, and a possible management of X. frontalis and E. mocsaryi, since these two were the most abundant pollinators in the studied locality. KEYWORDS: antagonism, behaviors, facilitation, resource partitioning, pollinators.Interações entre abelhas carpinteiras e abelhas das orquídeas (Hymenoptera: Apidae) em flores de Bertholletia excelsa Bonpl. (Lecythidaceae) RESUMO A competição entre duas espécies de abelhas por um mesmo tipo de recurso floral pode gerar comportamentos antagônicos entre elas, principalmente, dentro de áreas cultivadas, onde o recurso alimentar é limitado sazonalmente e localmente. No presente trabalho, foi testada a hipótese de antagonismo entre duas espécies de abelhas solitárias da família Apidae, Eulaema mocsaryi (Euglossini) e Xylocopa frontalis (Xylocopini) em flores da castanheira do Brasil (Bertholletia excelsa: Lecythidaceae) em uma área agrícola da Amazônia Central. O horário de visitação foi analisado a fim de se constatar a possível sobreposição temporal no forrageamento dessas abelhas. Além disso, suas interações interespecíficas de manipular flores visitadas pela espécie oponente ou tentar agredir essa espécie foram analisadas. Os indivíduos de Xylocopa frontalis visitaram as flores da castanheira antes que E. mocsaryi, embora o pico de visitação de ambas não tenha apresentado diferenças significativas. Nenhuma das duas espécies de abelhas manipulou flores recém-visitadas pela espécie oponente e praticamente não houve interações antagônicas entre elas. Desse modo, X. frontalis e E. mocsaryi compartilham a mesma fonte alimentar nas flores de B. excelsa devido às diferenças em seus horários de visitas e ao modo não agressivo de interagir co...

Pollen diets of two sibling orchid bee species, Euglossa, in Yucatán, southern Mexico

“…Finally, although the bees are using largely the same resource species, their spatial position in the forest, and the time of their use, are unknown. Such spatiotemporal resource partitioning is known in bees (dos Santos and Absy 2012;Brittain et al 2012), but the pollen spectra approach would not reveal this.…”

Nectar production dynamics and daily pattern of pollinator visits in Brazil nut (Bertholletia excelsa Bonpl.) plantations in Central Amazon: implications for fruit production

“…Income generated from the harvest and natural collection of its seeds (Brazil nuts) is of paramount importance for socioeconomic development in these regions (Wadt et al 2005). B. excelsa flowers are hermaphrodite and potential pollinators start to visit its flowers for nectar from the moment of their opening (Prance and Mori 2004;Santos and Absy 2012). The Brazil nut tree is predominantly xenogamous and the main pollinators are known to be large bees (Prance 1976;Mori et al 1978;Maués 2002;Cavalcante et al 2012).…”