Nest architecture and life cycle of Small Carpenter bee, Ceratina binghami Cockerell (Xylocopinae: Apidae: Hymenoptera)

Abstract

The small carpenter bee, Ceratina binghami (Xylocopinae:Apidae) is an important pollinator of many agricultural and horticultural crops. The nests constructed by the bee in the pruned pithy stems of Caesalpinia pulcherrima were collected to study its biology under laboratory conditions. The bee constructs its nest in the pithy stems of different plants by chewing over the pith layer. The bee is oligolectic in habit and make pollen balls and provision its broods in the cells with an interesting guarding behavior in the nest. The nests consisted of egg, larvae, prepupae, pupae and adult stages. Life cycle of the bee was completed in 41.67±3.12 days. Pupal stage consisted of different colors of eye pigmentation. Foraging activity of the bee started during morning hours approximately between 6.45 to 7.15 am and ended during the late evening hours of 4.50 to 5.15 pm. The nest architecture of the bee was studied and presented. The nesting behavior and short life cycle of C. binghami in pithy stems of C. pulcherrima helps in the in-situ conservation and utilization of the bee species in the pollination of agricultural crops.

Understanding climate change effects on the potential distribution of an important pollinator species, Ceratina moerenhouti (Apidae: Ceratinini), in the Eastern Afromontane biodiversity hotspot, Kenya

“…The genus Ceratina comprises xylophilous mass-provisioners that nest in deadwood, stems, or piths by creating linear burrows in various locations mostly in shaded environments (Raju and Rao, 2006). The nesting biology of several species of Ceratina such as C. smaragdula (Kapil and Kumar, 1969), C. calcarata (Rehan and Richards, 2010) and C. binghami (Udayakumar and Shivalingaswamy, 2019) in Rubus idaeus L., Rhus typhina L., Syzygium cumini and Cassia siamea is well documented and conservation in different habitats can be achieved. On the other hand, C. moerenhouti is known to nest on Aloe littoralis, Hibiscus cannabinus, Hyparrhenia dissoluta, Jacaranda mimosifolia, Poaceae (roof thatch), Lantana camara, Moringa oleifera.…”

Social divergence: molecular pathways underlying castes and longevity in a facultatively eusocial small carpenter bee

“…Ceratina japonica is a long-lived species of small carpenter bee, which forms either solitary or eusocial nests in sympatry across its native range in Japan [37][38][39]. As is common to all social species of small carpenter bees around the globe [40][41][42], C. japonica forms or re-uses a linear burrow within the stems of pithy plants in which it rears around eight offspring a year [37,38]. In solitary nests, brood cell provisioning, guarding and rearing are accomplished by a single reproductive female.…”