Trap-nesting Bees Communities from Protected Areas of Atlantic Forest, Southeastern Brazil

Abstract

The solitary bees that use preexisting cavities can be captured in trap-nests allowing to collect data on nesting biology and associated organisms. This man-made trap-nest facilitates the understanding of environmental components and landscape composition in the fauna of solitary bees. Here, we aimed to increase the knowledge about trap-nesting bee species from four protected areas Atlantic Forest in southeastern Brazil and to test how abiotic local environmental components (temperature and rainfall) and forest cover affects the trap-nesting bee fauna. We recorded occupants from 847 nests founded by 17 bee species and seven cleptoparasite bees, associated to their host, summing 24 bee species sampled. The family with highest species richness was Megachilidae, and the species with the largest number of founded nests was Tetrapedia diversipes Klug (Apidae). Diptera, coleoptera, and hymenoptera parasitized 15.2% of the founded nests. The period of highest nest occupation occurred between November and February, which correspond to the warmest and most humid months in the region. We found significant positive correlation between the number of nests and monthly accumulated rainfall. We verified that Boraceia and Ilhabela have the best status conservation based on native forest cover and we sampled the highest diversity of species in these areas. We improved the knowledge on trap-nesting bees communities from Atlantic Forest on new species sampled in this biome with their nesting biology and highlighted that rainfall influences positively the nest founding throughout the year and native forest cover influences diversity of species.

Genetic analyses reveal female philopatric behavior and nest usage by multiple females of the solitary oil-collecting bee Tetrapedia diversipes (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

“…Trap nests were set in four Atlantic Rain Forest conservation areas in the state of São Paulo: Estação Biológica de Boracéia (Bora) (23°38′ S/45°52′ W), Parque Estadual da Serra da Cantareira (Cant) (23°22′ S/46°36′ W), Parque Estadual da Ilhabela (Ilha) (23°45′ S/45°27′ W), and Parque das Neblinas (Nebl) (23°84′ S/45°32′ W) (Cordeiro et al 2019). The nests were collected during March 2007 to February 2008 and kept in the laboratory, and the emerging individuals were deposited at the Coleção Entomológica Paulo Nogueira-Neto (CEPANN), Instituto de Biociências, USP.…”

“…After accomplishing the reproductive task, the female dies; therefore, there is no generation overlap (Aguiar and Martins 2002;Alves-dos-Santos 2003;Michener 2007;Gazola and Garófalo 2009). This species presents a high occupancy rate in trap nests which may be related to its gregarious behavior, as when more females occupy one site, the cavities increase in attractiveness to other females (Cordeiro et al 2019). It is likely that nests may be reused by the offspring of the previous generation born on that site (i.e., philopatry) (Cordeiro et al 2019); nonetheless, there is still no data for T. diversipes that supports this hypothesis.…”

“…This species presents a high occupancy rate in trap nests which may be related to its gregarious behavior, as when more females occupy one site, the cavities increase in attractiveness to other females (Cordeiro et al 2019). It is likely that nests may be reused by the offspring of the previous generation born on that site (i.e., philopatry) (Cordeiro et al 2019); nonetheless, there is still no data for T. diversipes that supports this hypothesis. The high incidence of this species in trap nests gives it the potential to be a model organism to perform genetic, physiological, ecological, and evolutionary studies (Alves-dos- Santos et al 2002;Cordeiro et al 2011Cordeiro et al , 2019Menezes et al 2012;Pinto et al 2015;Rocha-Filho and Garófalo 2015;Araujo et al 2016Araujo et al , 2017Santos et al 2018).…”

“…It is likely that nests may be reused by the offspring of the previous generation born on that site (i.e., philopatry) (Cordeiro et al 2019); nonetheless, there is still no data for T. diversipes that supports this hypothesis. The high incidence of this species in trap nests gives it the potential to be a model organism to perform genetic, physiological, ecological, and evolutionary studies (Alves-dos- Santos et al 2002;Cordeiro et al 2011Cordeiro et al , 2019Menezes et al 2012;Pinto et al 2015;Rocha-Filho and Garófalo 2015;Araujo et al 2016Araujo et al , 2017Santos et al 2018). However, despite the studies already performed for the species, the population dynamics, brood relatedness, mating system, and nest occupation are not yet fully understood.…”

Interactive effect of agricultural management and landscape in bee-plant interaction networks

“…Studies performed in areas within the Atlantic Rain Forest generally indicate that smaller fragments of native vegetation cover show a lower diversity of bees (Tonhasca et al 2002;Brosi et al 2008;Brosi 2009; Cordeiro et al 2013; Silva-Mouga and Dec 2014; Cordeiro et al 2019). In fact, landscapes degraded by extensive agriculture (monocultures), or urbanization show a loss of environmental heterogeneity and, consequently, a loss in nidi cation and feeding resources for bees (Viana et Outhwaite et al 2022).…”