Academic literature on the topic 'Hylaeus – Australia'

Numerous orchid species are pollinated by food deception, where rewardless flowers attract foraging pollinators through the mimicry of other flowers or the use of non-specific floral signals. Here we investigate the pollination of Caladenia hildae, a member of a diverse Australian genus containing species pollinated by sexual deception, and species pollinated by food foraging pollinators. Despite eight bee species occurring at the main study site, only food foraging bees of a single species of Hylaeus (Colletidae) were observed to remove and deposit pollen of C. hildae. Spectral reflectance of C. hildae flowers differed from co-flowering rewarding species in terms of both the wavelengths of light reflected, and the pattern of colouration. As such, there was no evidence that C. hildae uses a pollination strategy based on floral mimicry. However, the attraction of only a single bee species at this site suggests that C. hildae may use a deceptive strategy that exploits sensory biases or behaviours that differ between Hylaeus sp. and the remainder of the bee community. While Hylaeus have been recorded visiting orchid flowers in several parts of the world, C. hildae may represent the first documented case of an orchid species specialised on pollination by Hylaeus bees.

A 2009 field survey at Cerro San Cristobal, Santiago, Chile, revealed the presence of Hylaeus (Gnathoprosopis) euxanthus (Cockerell, 1910). Since then, numerous individuals have been observed visiting several plant species around Santiago and Valparaíso. This is the first record of this Australian-native bee in South America.

Infrapopulation dynamics of the nematode Rhabdias cf. hylae within naturally-infected Bufo marinus in north Queensland, Australia, were detailed. Over 80% of 580 toads were infected with Rh. cf. hylae with a mean intensity of 16·1. Distribution of Rh. cf. hylae within the toad population was aggregated, with an increase in the variance-to-mean ratio with increasing toad size. Intensity of infection and length of nematode were both correlated with length of toad in the smaller size classes. Length of nematode was not related to intensity of infection at any time. Mean intensity of infection rose significantly in small toads following initial infection after metamorphosis. Over the same period, average length of nematode did not increase implying constant re-infection of the toads. Larger toads were not reinfected to the same extent, and the number of uninfected toads in the larger size class increased which indicated a natural loss of infections. Changes in parameters of Rh. cf. hylae infection within B. marinus were attributed to seasonal rainfall and its subsequent effect on the behaviour of the toad.

AbstractThe Australian species of Allomethus and Claraeola are revised and include one described species, Claraeola erinys (Perkins), and five new species: Allomethus unicicolis sp. n., Claraeola cyclohirta sp. n., C. sicilis sp. n., C. spargosis sp. n., and C. yingka sp. n.. Claraeola hylaea (Perkins) is proposed to be a synonym of C. erinys (Perkins). A key to species is provided and male and female genitalia are illustrated. The Australian species are placed phylogenetically into a world context using available taxa within the Allomethus genus group. The phylogenetic relationships are discussed in light of a cladistic analysis involving 22 taxa and 60 characters.

A survey of the protozoan parasites of the introduced South American cane toad, Bufo marinus, was conducted between 1983 and 1984 in Queensland. In all, 267 fully grown specimens, 7 juveniles and 115 tadpoles were checked for blood, cloaca, gall bladder and, for the tadpoles only, skin protozoans, and results are compared with records of the toad's protozoans in South America. Results show that Bufo marinus has not retained any of its native blood protozoans, and that it has introduced species of intestinal and gall bladder protozoans: Trichomitus batrachorum; Zelleriella antilliensis; Hyalodaktylethra renacuajo n.g. (=Saccamoeba renacuajo); and, Myxidium immersum. The toad has adopted at least three species of native protoopalinids: Protoopalina australis; P. hylarum; and, P. raffae. The intestinal flagellates Chilomastix caulleryi, Retortamonas dobelli, Giardia agilis, Spiro- nucleus elegans, and Monocercomonas batrachorum are all new records for B. marinus. Undetermined species of Nyctotheroides were observed in the cloaca. A species of Trichodina is reported for the first time on the skin of the toad's tadpoles.

Abstract A new distribution map is provided for Cephonodes hylas (Linnaeus) [Lepidoptera: Sphingidae] Larger pellucid hawk moth, coffee hawk moth, oriental bee hawk moth. Attacks coffee, Gardenia and other Rubiaceae, also tea. Information is given on the geographical distribution in AFRICA, Angola, Benin, Burkina, Faso, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zaire, Zimbabwe, ASIA, Andaman Islands, Bhutan, Burma, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Oman, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Ryukyu Islands, South Yemen, Sri Lanka, Sumatra, Taiwan, Thailand, AUSTRALASIA, Australia.

The European honey bee (Apis mellifera) has been present in Australia for approximately 150 years. For the majority of that time it was assumed this species could only be of benefit to Australia‘s natural ecosystems. More recently however, researchers and conservationists have questioned this assumption. Honey bees are an introduced species and may be affecting native fauna and flora. In particular, native bees have been highlighted as an animal that may be experiencing competition from honey bees as they are of similar sizes and both species require nectar and pollen for their progeny. Most research to date has focused on indirect measures of competition between honey bees and native bees (resource overlap, visitation rates and resource harvesting). The first chapter of this thesis reviews previous research explaining that many experiments lack significant replication and indirect measures of competition cannot evaluate the impact of honey bees on native bee fecundity or survival. Chapters two and four present descriptions of nesting biology of the two native bee species studied (Hylaeus alcyoneus and an undescribed Megachile sp.). Data collected focused on native bee fecundity and included nesting season, progeny mass, number of progeny per nest, sex ratio and parasitoids. This information provided a picture of the nesting biology of these two species and assisted in determining the design of an appropriate experiment. Chapters three and five present the results of two experiments investigating the impact of honey bees on these two species of native bees in the Northern Beekeepers Nature Reserve in Western Australia. Both experiments focused on the fecundity of these native bee species in response to honey bees and also had more replication than any other previous experiment in Australia of similar design. The first experiment (Chapter three), over two seasons, investigated the impact of commercial honey bees on Hylaeus alcyoneus, a native solitary bee. The experiment was monitored every 3-4 weeks (measurement interval). However, beekeepers did not agist hives on sites simultaneously so measurement intervals were initially treated separately using ANOVA. Results showed no impact of honey bees at any measurement interval and in some cases, poor power. Data from both seasons was combined in a Wilcoxon‘s sign test and showed that honey bees had a negative impact on the number of nests completed by H. alcyoneus. The second experiment (Chapter 5) investigated the impact of feral honey bees on an undescribed Megachile species. Hive honey bees were used to simulate feral levels of honey bees in a BACI (Before/After, Control/Impact) design experiment. There was no impact detected on any fecundity variables. The sensitivity of the experiment was calculated and in three fecundity variables (male and female progeny mass and the number of progeny per nest) the experiment was sensitive enough to detect 15-30% difference between control and impact sites. The final chapter (Chapter six) makes a number of research and management recommendations in light of the research findings.

This study is the first comprehensive investigation of the behavioural and population ecology of the native Australian bee, Amphylaeus morosus Smith 1879 (Colletidae: Hylaeine), and of any Australian hylaeine species. The project had three main aims. The first was to describe the lifecycle and examine the social nesting behaviour of A. morosus, the second was to assess potential floral resource overlap and resource competition between A. morosus and the introduced European honey bee (Apis mellifera L.), and the third was to investigate sex allocation in A. morosus. The research was undertaken over two years (1992-93 and 1993-94) within moist-dry eucalypt forests in temperate montane regions of the southern Great Dividing Range of Australia (Black Range and Toolangi State Forests, and the Dandenong Ranges National Park). This region may be classified as temperate 'Mediterranean', and plant communities are dominated by a Eucalyptus overstory. In this region, A. morosus nests within naturally excised fronds of the rough tree fern, Cyathea australis, which grows in sheltered run-offs within gullies. Amphylaeus morosus had a univoltine lifecycle in the present study. New nests were founded in spring, while most nests (about 70%) were reused a second time. Presumably, fronds have a finite "shelf life" due to the fibrous nature of the fronds and the generally moist conditions. A. morosus applies a waterproof cellophane to the nest prior to brood production, which takes place from late spring until early-mid summer. There is one nest per frond and the brood are laid sequentially in separate-sealed brood cells, each provisioned with nectar and pollen. New nests had only one adult female during the broodrearing phase, whereas about 24% of reused nests during this phase were multifemale (predominantly two adult females, and occasionally three adult females). This study is the first report of social nesting in any colletid bee, based on reliable data. Direct observations of within-nest behaviours was not undertaken, rather inferences on social nesting are drawn from dissections of a large sample of nests and their contents. Social nesting appears to be the result of reusing a nest, rather than the result of cooperative interactions per se among nestmates. One- and two-adult female reused nests were similar in terms of brood production per adult female (though overall differences were possibly obscured by late season mortality among adults females) and total brood mortality (principally parasitisation by the wasp, Gasteruption sp.). In contrast, new nests produced significantly fewer brood than one-adult female reused nests. New nests lagged behind reused nests in commencing brood production, presumably because comparatively more time is needed by a bee to construct and line the walls of a new nest rather than merely extend and reline a preexisting nest. The role of kin selection in promoting cooperative nesting would appear to be minor, given that average relatedness between nestmates was quite low (r = 0.26 ± 0.06 s.e.). It appears that suitable nesting fronds were not constrained in this study, and thus this factor probably did not influence multifemale nest reuse. Since A. morosus provisions cells as a linear series, and since this behaviour presents opportunities for intra-nidal oophagy, for example, then it is unlikely that nestmates in multi-female nests share reproduction equally. Relative ovary sizes, body sizes and wing wear of bees within multifemale nests were statistically similar, and hence do not support the hypothesis of differential reproductive output between nestmates. However, DNA analyses of maternity relationships within nests are needed to help quantify relative outputs between nestmates. In assessing potential floral resource competition between honey bees and A. morosus, this study measured variables that were directly associated with changes in fitness of A. morosus. Specifically, the demographic performance of A. morosus (e.g. brood production, pupal weights, survival of brood, and frequency of nests with adult females) was measured in four experimental sites (each containing six commercial-size honey bee hives) versus four control sites (no enhancement of honey bee densities) over two springsummer flowering seasons. The results of honey bee baiting experiments indicated that the honey bee treatments represented a very large perturbation to the system. Proportional use of pollens from different floral groups by A. morosus in each year was generally as follows: Eucalyptus > Fabaceae > Leptospermum; whereas that for honey bees was generally as follows: Acacia = Eucalyptus = Hypochoeris radicata > Fabaceae > Leptospermum in year one, and Eucalyptus > H. radicata > Acacia = Fabaceae > Leptospermum in year two. Overall, A. morosus and honey bees showed substantial overlap in pollen use- about 50% similarity in each year. Despite these results, no statistically significant negative impact of honey bees on the demographic performance of A. morosus was detected. Three likely and testable hypotheses may explain the lack of any detectable impact of honey bees on A. morosus. One, A. morosus and honey bees vary in their use of the same floral resources over time and space. Two, floral resources were not limiting for A. morosus. Three, increased biomass of bees in experimental sites, reduced the potential impact of honey bees on A. morosus through the effects of 'predator-saturation'. Populations of A. morosus followed Fisherian ratios of equal investment in male and female brood. Conditional sex allocation strategies best explain why male-biased numerical and investment ratios were produced in reused nests, but ratios were female-biased in new nests. Specifically, given that nests are a valuable resource that can be used more than once, then mothers in new nests should be selected to produce more daughters than sons in such nests because only daughters can exploit this resource in the next generation. However, frequency-dependent selection operating on mothers in reused nests to bias their allocation to relatively more sons, gives rise to population-wide 1:1 investment patterns. Additionally, A. morosus is protogynous, female brood were generally heavier than male brood, and comparatively more and heavier brood were produced in the second year of this study.