An alien Sennertia mite (Acari: Chaetodactylidae) associated with an introduced Oriental bamboo‐nesting large carpenter bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Xylocopa) invading the central Honshu Island, Japan

Abstract

Since 2006, an introduced Oriental bamboo‐nesting large carpenter bee, Xylocopa tranquebarorum, has been recorded from the central Honshu Island, Japan, which is inhabited only by the endemic subspecies, Xylocopa appendiculata circumvolans. Carpenter bees (tribes Xylocopini and Ceratinini) have ecological associations with specific Sennertia spp. in all geographic regions of their distribution, thus it is worried that the introduced carpenter bee has brought non‐indigenous mites into Japan. In their native ranges, X. a. circumvolans and X. tranquebarorum each has specific Sennertia mite faunas: the four Japanese Alloxylocopa bees including X. a. circumvolans have associations with S. alfkeni, while X. tranquebarorum has association with S. potanini in China (except Taiwan) and with S. horrida in South to East Asia including Taiwan. In the present study, we examined phoretic mite fauna on the introduced X. tranquebarorum, and determined whether the mites are indigenous or not based on morphological character and two gene sequences (mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I gene and nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer). It was found from the result of this study that the non‐indigenous Sennertia mite has invaded Japan with the introduced X. tranquebarorum. We discuss geographic origin of the introduced X. tranquebarorum based on associated mite fauna and potential ecological risk caused by the introduced Xylocopa‐Sennertia association.

Invasion pathway and potential risks of a bamboo-nesting carpenter bee, Xylocopa tranquebarorum (Hymenoptera: Apidae), and its micro-associated mite introduced into Japan

“…We suspect that because the mite species associated with X. tranquebarorum both genetically and morphologically differs from S. horrida, which is associated with the same bee species in Taiwan, but is morphologically similar to S. potanini from continental Asia (Kawazoe et al, 2010), and because there have been few recent imports from Taiwan, S. nr alfkeni likely originated from the continental Asian region. Whether X. tranquebarorum expanded its distribution from Anpachi and Toyota to Nagoya (midway between the two cities) or was distributed from Toyota to Anpachi, including Nagoya, remains unclear.…”

“…For example, a termite species, Incisitermes minor Hagen (Blattaria, Termitidae), is suspected to have been introduced with imported woods and wooden furniture, and a wood-boring beetle, Lyctus planicollis LeConte (Coleoptera, Lyctidae), may have been introduced with dried lumber infected after the drying process during storage for export (Goto, 2003;Ohmura and Tokoro, 2003). In North America, invasive woodboring insects directly and indirectly affect many ecological processes (Gandhi and Herms, 2009 Although S. nr alfkeni is morphologically similar to the Japanese mite S. alfkeni, genetic analysis separated the two species, and the former is considered to have been introduced with X. tranquebarorum (Kawazoe et al, 2010). The Japanese carpenter bee, X. a. circumvolans, sometimes damages wooden buildings through the construction of nests (Sakagami and Maeta, 1986), but its associated mite has only generated scientific, and not public, interest.…”

“…1). Xylocopa tranquebarorum is associated with a mite belonging to Sennertia, the deutonymph of which is morphologically similar to but genetically different from the Japanese large carpenter bee mite, S. alfkeni (Kawazoe et al, 2010). Hereafter, 330 K. OKABE et al the introduced species is referred to as Sennertia nr alfkeni.…”

“…Hereafter, 330 K. OKABE et al the introduced species is referred to as Sennertia nr alfkeni. Although the original habitat(s) is unknown, this bee is unlikely to have originated from Taiwan (although the Japanese name of X. tranquebarorum is directly translated to "Taiwanese bamboo-nesting large carpenter bee"), where X. tranquebarorum is associated with S. horrida; instead, based on its associated mite species, it probably arrived from Southeast and/or East Asia (Kawazoe et al, 2010).…”

Figure 2 from: Ruiz C, Suárez D, Naranjo M, De la Rúa P (2020) First record of the carpenter bee Xylocopa pubescens (Hymenoptera, Apidae) in the Canary Islands confirmed by DNA barcoding. Journal of Hymenoptera Research 80: 169-175. https://doi.org/10.3897/jhr.80.59649

“…The arrival of an exotic species can lead to negative impacts on ecosystems such as competition with native pollinators for floral and nesting resources, or the introduction of new pathogens (Kawazoe et al 2010). They can also have negative effects on native flora (Barrows 1980), as damaging flowers due to nectar robbery without pollinating them (Dedej and Delaplane 2004).…”