Reproduction and Accompanying Fauna of Red Mason Bee Osmia rufa L. (syn. Osmia bicornis L.) in Areas with Different Levels of Urbanization

Abstract

An increasing number of studies show that urbanized areas are habitats of high biological value and ecological significance. Most bee species live in areas altered by man, either in cities - fragmented urban habitats - or in large rural monocultures. Our research is based on three-year observations of population development of the solitary bee Osmia rufa L. in three habitat types: city, suburbs and villages. We compared reproductive parameters and diversity of accompanying nest fauna. Population growth rate was high in all habitats, exceeding five times the number of cocoons placed in the previous year. We found no significant differences in the number of cocoons and brood mortality between areas with different urbanization levels. In nests located in suburbs, parasites and cleptoparasites occupied almost three times more nest chambers than in other habitats. Changes in the habitat structure had a significant impact on the diversity and abundance of accompanying fauna. Our study shows that red mason bees are flexible and easily adapt to new conditions, despite changes caused by urbanization and agriculture.

Concentration of Heavy Metals in Pollen and Bees Osmia bicornis L. in Three Different Habitats in the Łowicz District in Central Poland

“…In urban habitats and berry plantations bees occupied a similar percentage of nesting tubes, over 50%, while, in orchards, they occupied more than 60% of nesting tubes (Table 1). These were low results compared to studies on the urbanization gradient, where the percentage of settlements in urban and agricultural habitats was over 90% [41]. The percentage of occupied nests influenced the population growth, which was much higher in orchards (3.97) than in berry plantations or urban habitats (3.60 and 3.09, respectively).…”

“…Each tube was cut open with a scalpel and the number of breeding cells in which there were cocoons, dead larvae, and pupae, or parasites was recorded. In this study, we determined the parameters of the population, which were used in previous studies [41]: a. Percent of tubes occupied by bees in relation to all tubes in the nest.…”

“…Orchards achieved a population increase of 3.17 [65], a result similar to ours for the same type of habitat. In urbanized habitats, the population growth rate of O. bicornis was 5.65 [41]. The amount and availability of pollen for O. bicornis in a mixed environment is greater than in monocultures, which ensures an abundance of pollen over a short time.…”

The Impact of Different Biotopes and Management Practices on the Burden of Parasites in Artificial Nests of Osmia spp. (Megachilidae) Bees

“…The same authors determined that in comparison with one-year-old tubes, in the two-yearold cane tubes there are more than ten times less healthy cocoons and three times more injured or destroyed cocoons, with a wider diversity of parasites [33]. Additionally, it was previously reported that continuous breeding in the same place for more than ten years means significantly higher numbers and diversity of brood parasites in nests [34,35]. Our results showed the lowest determined bees SL was at L3, which was 13.80% in total, while in a similar environment of L2, it was 28.05%.…”

Distribution of infectious and parasitic agents among three sentinel bee species across European agricultural landscapes

“…IPA infection intensity of managed and wild bees varies naturally throughout the season 12 , 13 , 34  and is also affected by available floral resources 38 – 44 , climatic conditions 45 – 48 , habitat quality 44 , urbanisation intensity 49 – 51 , density of managed bees 44 , 52 and interacting environmental factors 53 – 55 . The specific and temporary deployment of large numbers of managed honey bees, bumble bees or solitary bees for crop pollination may therefore represent a threat to native wild bee populations, through competition for limited floral resources and nest sites 9 , 56 , 57 , and through IPA transmission in overlapping foraging networks 8 , 58 – 63 or direct contact between bees or their faeces.…”