Nesting ecology and floral resource of Xylocopa augusti Lepeletier de Saint Fargeau (Hymenoptera, Apidae) in Argentina

Abstract

1 A total of 33 nests of Xylocopa augusti was studied during two consecutive seasons. 2 Nesting behaviour and floral resources used by the large carpenter bee X. augustiLepeletier de Saint Fargeau were studied during the brood production season in an urban area in Argentina. 3 Biological information about nesting aspects inside and outside the nest was considered, paying particular attention to year-long activity, foraging flights throughout the day for nectar and pollen collection, nectar dehydration, oviposition, and pollen preference. 4 In the study area, X. augusti shows an univoltine life cycle, with a peak of nesting between October and December, which coincides with the greatest blooming period of the surrounding flora. 5 From 36 analyzed larval provision samples, 18 pollen types were identified, most of them belonging to ornamental trees or shrubs. Pollen from Eucalyptus-Myrceugenia glaucescens (Cambess.) D. Legrand and Kausel (Myrtaceae), Solanum sp.-Cyphomandra betacea (Cav.) Sendtn. (Solanaceae) and Erythrina crista-galli L. (Fabaceae) was dominant. 6 The ability to obtain pollen from poricidal anthers such as those of Solanum indicate the potential of X. augusti to be an excellent managed pollinator and a good candidate for pollinating Solanaceae, such as Solanum lycopersicum 'tomato' and Solanum melongena 'eggplant', which are economically important crops in this region.

Volumetric expression of palynological spectra for nutritional studies

“…Since at present, data regarding pollen grain's weight are available only for a few species, in many recent researches (e.g. Ferreira & Absy, 2015;Frias, Barbosa, & Lourenço, 2016;Hilgert-Moreira, Nascher, Callegari-Jacques, & Blochtein, 2014;Lucia, Telleria, Ramello, & Abrahamovich, 2017), the raw palynological spectrum is still used to express the composition of pollen samples. Requier et al (2015) note the importance of the correction of the raw palynological spectrum and propose the pollen grain's diameter as the correcting factor.…”

Nesting and foraging behavior of Xylocopa valga in the Ejina Oasis, China

“…In Argentina, 18 kinds of pollen have been reported in X . augusti food [ 38 ]. Twenty-nine pollen types were identified in the food of X .…”

“…There are also differences in the kind of pollen collected by the same kind of carpenter bee in different distribution areas. In Argentina, 18 kinds of pollen have been reported in X. augusti food [38]. Twenty-nine pollen types were identified in the food of X. nasalis, 13 of which were the main pollen sources [39].…”

Recurso polinífero utilizado por Apis mellifera L. (Himenoptera: Apidae) en un área de bosque subtropical del noroeste de Argentina

“…Esta especie exótica, relacionada con la actividad antrópica, se encuentra disponible en la zona de estudio por ser principalmente un área de producción forestal (Braun Wilke et al, 2013). En sectores del noroeste argentino es uno de los principales recursos poliníferos de las colmenas (Burgos et al, 2015), como también en sectores de la región pampeana argentina y el Bajo Delta del Paraná registrándose como recurso dominante en colmenas de A. mellifera y Xylocopa augusti Lepeletier de Saint Fargeau (Telleria, 1995;Basilio, 2000;Lucia, Tellería, Ramello, & Abrahamovich, 2017). En el sur de Brasil, se observó también su importancia polinífera tanto en colmenas de A. mellifera como en especies de meliponas (Luz et al, 2011;Hilgert Moreira, Nascher, Callegari-Jacques, & Blocthein, 2014).…”