Production of undersized offspring in a solitary bee

Bosch, Jordi

doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2007.06.018

Cited by 70 publications

(62 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…Some studies on bees show that intraspeci ic and intrasexual size polymorphisms are highly dependent on luctuation in food availability (Kim 1999, Peruquetti 2003, Bosch 2008. Studies on females of C. aenea generated in different periods of the reproductive season could provide information whether there are intrapopulational morphometric differences and, if so, whether they could be ascribed to availability variation of loral resources.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Morphometric Analysis of Populations of Centris aenea Lepeletier (Hymenoptera: Apidae) from Northeastern Brazil

Ferreira¹,

Aguiar²,

Costa³

et al. 2011

Neotrop. entomol.

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Centris aenea Lepeletier is a solitary bee that has raised interest in management to pollinate crops, such as acerola, Malpighia emarginata. This study investigated the level of morphometric variability among populations of C. aenea from Northeastern Brazil. Traditional and geometric morphometric analyses were used. Head length, leg length, wing length, and wing shape were measured in samples (5-10 females) from eight localities. We did not ind statistically signi icant differences among the populations (P > 0.01). The partial wing warps were similar in the populations and indicated that the bees were not morphometrically different. Our results suggest that C. aenea shows low population morphometric variability and highlight the need for further investigations on population variation in this species, preferably including populations sampled at the extremes of their geographic distribution. Signi icant insight into the population variation of C. aenea will probably require the use of molecular markers to allow a comparative approach between morphometric variability and genetic variability.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Morphometric Analysis of Populations of Centris aenea Lepeletier (Hymenoptera: Apidae) from Northeastern Brazil

Ferreira¹,

Aguiar²,

Costa³

et al. 2011

Neotrop. entomol.

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“…According to Bosch (2008) and Torreta et al (2012), basic knowledge about the nesting biology, including developmental physiology of bee pollinators, is essential for developing appropriate rearing methods to be applied in pollination of cultivated plant species. Taking into account those considerations and based on our results, we can say that there is future potential for developing this species for pollination of cultivated plants in Brazil.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nests of solitary bees are also useful for the study of parental investment strategies since females (males do not participate in nest construction or provisioning) have a high degree of control over sex determination and the size of their offspring (Bosch 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nest architecture, life cycle, and natural enemies of the neotropical leafcutting bee Megachile (Moureapis) maculata (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) in a montane forest

Sabino

Antonini

2017

Apidologie

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-Studies on the nesting biology of cavity nesting hymenoptera (bees and wasps) have stimulated many questions related to the behavior, life cycle, trophic niche, and sex ratio to better understanding of the life history of insects. Leafcutting bees are common insects, and many are important and efficient pollinators of crops and other plants. We studied the nesting biology of Megachile (Moureapis ) maculata in a montane semi-deciduous forest in Brazil using trap nests in order to improve the knowledge of aspects of the natural history of this important pollinator group. During 27 months, 87 nests were collected with an average of seven brood cells per nest. Most of the nests were in cavities of 0.9 cm in diameter (77%), and the number of brood cells ranged from 1 to 11. Absence of seasonality in nesting behavior suggests a multivoltine species. The total mortality rate was 26%, with the cuckoo bee Coelyoxis (Acrocoelioxys ) sp. being the main natural enemy attacking 15% of brood cells. The sex ratio is clearly male-biased (1:0.42). Females and their brood cells were larger than males and their brood cells, which may suggest an imbalance in the energetic cost of each sex. The success of this bee species in colonizing trap nests makes it an interesting potential opportunity to use this species for pollination of cultivated Asteraceae plant species, like sunflower.Atlantic forest / sex ratio / solitary bees / trap nests INTRODUCTIONThe genus Megachile Latreille, 1802 (Megachilidae) is large, with 1524 species described, of which 147 have been recorded from Brazil (Ascher and Pickering 2015). Species of megachilid bees use several nesting substrates. Some species dig nests in the soil, but most are specialists in using pre-existing cavities in the ground, among rocks or in pithy stems and galls (Eickwort et al. 1981). Pre-existing cavities are also found in dead wood, such as old galleries of wood-dwelling beetles, which are important nest spaces in forest ecosystems (Zuo et al. 2016).Materials used for nesting construction are quite diverse, including sand, mud, resins, plant trichomes, petals, and leaf pieces. The behavior of nesting in cavities probably evolved repeatedly in ancestral species that nested in the soil (Eickwort et al. 1981) and may be more common than once supposed. Females, particularly of the genus Megachile , use their mandibles to cut pieces of leaves used to build their brood cells. This remarkable behavior, of using pieces of leaves to build the brood cells, is unique among bees.

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“…Smallbodied offspring may result from factors other than variation in parental provisioning, such as variation in pollen protein levels (Roulston & Cane 2002), resource scarcity (Bosch 2008), or cleptoparasitism of provisions (Smith et al 2008). However, foragers are significantly smaller than sisters that emerge just a few days earlier or later (Smith et al 2008), and forager emergence is not temporally coordinated across nests (A.R.S., W.T.W.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social competition but not subfertility leads to a division of labour in the facultatively social sweat bee Megalopta genalis (Hymenoptera: Halictidae)

et al. 2009

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Production of undersized offspring in a solitary bee

Cited by 70 publications

References 45 publications

Morphometric Analysis of Populations of Centris aenea Lepeletier (Hymenoptera: Apidae) from Northeastern Brazil

Morphometric Analysis of Populations of Centris aenea Lepeletier (Hymenoptera: Apidae) from Northeastern Brazil

Nest architecture, life cycle, and natural enemies of the neotropical leafcutting bee Megachile (Moureapis) maculata (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) in a montane forest

Social competition but not subfertility leads to a division of labour in the facultatively social sweat bee Megalopta genalis (Hymenoptera: Halictidae)

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