Academic literature on the topic 'Megachile'

The five dauber subgenera of Megachile that occur in southern Africa are revised. They are: Gronoceras, Maximegachile,Callomegachile, Chalicodoma and Pseudomegachile. This group comprises 43 valid species, nine of which are new to sci-ence. They are: Megachile (Callomegachile) soutpansbergensis sp.n., Megachile (Chalicodoma) gessorum sp.n., Mega-chile (Chalicodoma) sarahae sp.n., Megachile (Chalicodoma) richtersveldensis sp.n., Megachile (Pseudomegachile) gessisp.n., Megachile (Pseudomegachile) namibensis sp.n., Megachile (Pseudomegachile) pseudotaraxis sp.n., Megachile(Pseudomegachile) taraxis sp.n. and Megachile (Pseudomegachile) pseudotaraxis sp.n. Thirty-four new synonynyms havebeen recorded. Megachile simpsoni race yapiensis Cockerell is a junior synonym of Megachile bombiformis Gerstaecker;Megachile combusta Smith, Megachile nigrocincta Ritsema and Megachile tricolor Friese are synonyms of Megachile cincta(Fabricius); Megachile cerberus var. optima Cockerell is a synonym of Megachile felina Gerstaecker; Megachile chrysor-rhoea Gerstaecker is a synonym of Megachile rufipennis (Fabricius); Megachile perniciosa Friese, Megachile perniciosa var.pallipennis Friese and Megachile aridissima Cockerell are synonyms of Megachile rufiventris Guérin–Méneville; Megachileexcavata Cockerell is a synonym of Megachile demeter (Cockerell); Megachile kamerunensis totafusca Pasteels is a syn-onym of Megachile kamerunensis Friese; Megachile tritacantha Pasteels is a synonym of Megachile sheppardi (Pasteels);Megachile musculus Friese, Megachile johannis Pasteels, Megachile biexcisa Pasteels and Megachile johannis fulvosetosaPasteels are synonyms of Megachile karooensis Brauns; Megachile insolita Pasteels, Megachile reicherti Brauns, Megachileacanthura Cockerell, Megachile bipunctulata Pasteels and Megachile aurulenta Pasteels are synonyms of Megachile muri-na Friese; Megachile cinctiventris Friese, Megachile albopilosa Friese and Megachile lineofasciata Pasteels are synonymsof Megachile niveofasciata Friese; Megachile congruens Friese and Megachile flaviventris Friese are synonyms of Mega-chile schulthessi Friese; Megachile empeyi Pasteels is a synonym of Megachile cradockensis Friese; Megachile torridusSmith, Megachile decemsignata Radoszkowski and Megachile junodi Friese are synonyms of Megachile fervida (Smith);Megachile bullata Friese and Megachile trisecta Pasteels are synonyms of Megachile nasicornis Friese; Megachile laminataFriese and Megachile armatipes Friese are synonyms of Megachile mossambica Gribodo. The nomenclatorial history ofeach species is documented, descriptions are given, food plants are recorded and distribution maps are provided. A key to the included subgenera and keys to the species in each subgenus are given.

Eight instances of homonymy are identified in the megachiline genera Coelioxys Latreille and Megachile Latreille, with replacement names established for the junior homonyms. Coelioxys (Coelioxys) lethosyne Engel, new name, is proposed for C. simplex latefasciata Friese (nec Morawitz); C. (Liothyrapis) wuae Engel, new name, is proposed for C. albofasciata Wu (nec Radoszkowski); Megachile (Eutricharaea) hisarica Engel, new name, is proposed for M. dentata Rahman & Chopra (nec Friese); M. (Megachile) agnosta Engel, new name, is proposed for M. japonica Matsumura (nec Alfken); M. (Dasymegachile) schwimmeri Engel, new name, is proposed for M. mitchelli Raw (nec Gupta); M. (Creightonella) taftanica Engel, new name, is proposed for M. aurantiaca Rebmann (nec Friese); M. (Callomegachile) biseta austrina Engel, new name, is proposed for M. biseta australis Pasteels (nec Lucas); and M. (C.) ceratops Engel, new name, is proposed for M. monoceros Friese (nec Pallas).

A new species Megachile pseudodisjuncta of the bee is being reported from Genus Megachile and Subgenus Callomegachile. It bears a close resemblance to M. disjuncta from which it has been distinguished on the basis of certain morphological characters and genitalia. Megachilid bees bear utmost significance because they are very good pollinators of both cultivated and wild fauna. Consequently, their taxonomic identification and conservation are very crucial. The detailed taxonomically important morphological characters of both the species were studied and photographed. Male sternum and genitalia were studied microscopically and photographed. The material examined and floral associations have also been presented in the paper.

The five southern African subgenera of Megachile with recessed cutting edges between their teeth are revised. The entire group comprises 37 valid species, two of which are new: Megachile (Eutricharaea) gobabebensis sp. n. and Megachile (Eutricharaea) goegabensis sp. n. Other species are: Megachile (Amegachile) fimbriata Smith, Megachile (Amegachile) nasalis Smith, Megachile (Amegachile) bituberculata Ritsema, Megachile (Eutricharaea) afra Pasteels, Megachile (Eutricharaea) aurifera Cockerell, Megachile (Eutricharaea) barbata Smith, Megachile (Eutricharaea) basalis Smith, Megachile (Eutricharaea) bucephala (Fabricius), Megachile (Eutricharaea) cyanescens Friese, Megachile (Eutricharaea) eurymera Smith, Megachile (Eutricharaea) familiaris Cockerell, Megachile (Eutricharaea) konowiana Friese, Megachile (Eutricharaea) meadewaldoi Brauns, Megachile (Eutricharaea) muansae Friese, Megachile (Eutricharaea) pachyceps Friese, Megachile (Eutricharaea) regina Friese, Megachile (Eutricharaea) salsburyana Friese, Megachile (Eutricharaea) venusta Smith, Megachile (Eutricharaea) wahlbergi Friese, Megachile (Heriadopsis) whiteana Cameron, Megachile (Paracella) admixta Cockerell, Megachile (Paracella) barkeri Cockerell, Megachile (Paracella) chrysopogon Vachal, Megachile (Paracella) curtula Gerstaecker, Megachile (Paracella) edwardsi Friese, Megachile (Paracella) filicornis Friese, Megachile(Paracella) frontalis Smith, Megachile (Paracella) malangensis Friese, Megachile (Paracella) pilosella Friese, Megachile (Paracella) semierma Vachal, Megachile (Paracella) ungulata Smith, Megachile (Platysta) khamana Cockerell. Of the 78 new synonymies fimbriata vulpecula Pasteels is M. fimbriata; volkmanni ventrifasciata Strand is M. nasalis; sjoestedti var. rubripedana Strand is M. tuberculata; gratiosa Gerstaecker,concinna Smith, marusa Cameron, robertiana Cameron, venustella Cockerell, umbiloensis Cockerell and acallognatha Cockerell are M. venusta Smith; latimetatarsis Strand and rozenii Pasteels are M. basalis Smith; semifulva Friese and planatipes Cockerell are M. bucephala (Fabricius); seclusiformis Cockerell is M. salsburyana Friese; flava Friese and rhodoleucura Cockerell are M. eurymera Smith; luteola Pasteels and stellensis Pasteels are M. familiaris Cockerell; nasutula Brauns, coelostoma Cockerell, and nitidicauda Cockerell are M. barbata Smith; venustoides Strand, venustella zambesica Cockerell and pondonis Cockerell are wahlbergi Friese; okanjandica Strand and vittatula Cockerell are cyanescens Friese; leucospilura Cockerell is M. muansae Friese; cordata Smith,tardula Cameron, ekuivella Cockerell, krebsiana Strand, rhodesica Cockerell, natalica Cockerell, masaiella Cockerell, chromatica Cockerell, gratiosella Cockerell, rhodesica haematognatha Cockerell, mackieae Cockerell,flammicauda Cockerell, venusta var. semiflava Cockerell, rufulina Cockerell, rufosuffusa Cockerell, melanura Cockerell, asarna Cockerell, capiticola Cockerell, heteroscopa Cockerell, capiticola Cockerell and chrysognatha Cockerell are M. frontalis Smith; boswendica Cockerell, rubrociliata Pasteels and rufisetosa Pasteels are M. pilosella Friese; apiformis Smith is M. ungulata Smith; stellarum Cockerell, laticeps Friese, malangensis mamalapia Pasteels, obesa Pasteels and ovatomaculata Pasteels are M. malangensis Friese; flavibasis Cockerell,heterotricha Cockerell, candidicauda Cockerell, candidigena Cockerell, candidicauda spinarum Cockerell, neliCockerell, albofilosa Cockerell, discretula Cockerell, rubeola Pasteels and meesi Pasteels are M. chrysopogon Vachal; lydenburgiana Strand, aliceae Cockerell, pretoriaensis Pasteels and pycnocephala Pasteels are M. semierma Vachal; benitocola Strand and granulicauda Cockerell are M. curtula Gerstaecker; and spatulicornis Pasteels is M. edwardsi Friese. Brief descriptions are provided for all the species, as are their distributions in southern Africa, known host plants and parasites. Keys for the identification of the species are also given.

The southern African species of Megachile (Creightonella) are revised. Twelve valid species are recognised, one of whichis new, Megachile serrula sp. n., and four are only known from the female. Ten new synonymies are recorded. Megachilecognata var. claripennis Friese, Megachile natalensis Friese are synonymized with Megachile cognata Smith. Megachileconsanguinea zamelaena Cockerell is synonymized with Megachile ianthoptera Smith. Megachile hopilitis Vachal,Megachile vanderysti Cockerell, Megachile triangulifera kivuicola Cockerell, and Megachile heptadonta Cockerell aresynonymized with Megachile angulata Smith. Four new lectotypes were designated; they are Megachile natalensis Friese,M. discolor Smith, M. cornigera Friese and M. braunsiana Friese. The nomenclatorial history of each species is documented, diagnoses are given, food plants are recorded and distribution maps are provided.

Die bemerkenswerte und als neu erkannte Blattschneiderbienen-Art, Megachile trichorhytisma Engel sp. n. wird beschrieben. Die Beschreibung wird ergänzt durch Abbildungen verschiedener Ansichten des Habitus und der Genitalien zweier Männchen, die im nördlichen Thailand gesammelt wurden. Die Art wird in die neue Untergattung Aethomegachile Engel & Baker subgen. n. gestellt, die von bisher bekannten Abstammungslinien von Megachile unterschieden wird.StichwörterApoidea, Anthophila, Megachilinae, Megachilini, Southeast Asia, taxonomy.Nomenklatorische HandlungenAethomegachile Engel & Baker, 2006 (Megachile), sgen. n.trichorhytisma Engel, 2006 (Megachile (Aethomegachile)), spec. n.

Although Megachile Latreille (leafcutter bees) are well known for their diverse nesting habits, records of the genus nesting in live plants are rare. Here, we report the widespread Megachile (Megachile) montivaga Cresson nesting in live thistle (Cirsium neomexicanum Gray), the first explicit record of this behavior in the Nearctic.

The data on 38 species of megachilid bees in the tribes Lithurgini, Dioxyini, and Megachilini collected in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan mainly in 2018–2020 are given. Seventeen species are new to Azerbaijan, four other species are new to the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic and as a result of the present investigation the fauna of Azerbaijan currently numbers 160 species of the family Megachilidae. A mosaic gynandro¬morph of Megachile albisecta (Klug, 1817) is also described.

Genus Megachile forms an integral part of the ecosystem as its members are important pollinators of both wild and cultivated flora. Surveying on a large scale helps in gathering a lot of information about their spatial and temporal data. This also helps in studying their biodiversity and taxonomy. Three species of solitary bees under subgenus Pseudomegachile Friese of the genus Megachile Latreille collected from Sutlej basin plains of India have been studied and described taxonomically. Megachile (Pseudomegachile) creusa (Bingham), M. (P.) ramakrishnae Cockerell and M. (P.) elfrona (Cameron) with 21 examples are described including their morphological characters, taxonomically important characters, zoogeographic records, floral associations along with genitalic and sternal plates. Since most of the areas included in the study have been surveyed first time for Megachile study, these are new records for the studied area.

Five species of Megachile are placed in their correct subgenera, raising the total number of correctly placed species of this genus to 519 in the Americas. Megachile (Dasymegachile) mitchelli new name is proposed for Cressoniella (Chaetochile) golbachi Schwimmer, in Mitchell, 1980.

L'abeille solitaire coupeuse de feuilles megachile rotundata possede une biologie favorisant son elevage et son utilisation en tant que pollinisateur des cultures de plantes fourrageres. Ses cires epicuticulaires sont constituees de 35 pour cent d'acides gras, 26 pour cent d'alcanes et 39 pour cent de monoenes. Ces derniers permettent de distinguer d'une part les males des jeunes femelles vierges qui possedent proportionnellement plus de pentacosene-7 et de pentacosene-9, d'autre part de separer de ces deux groupes les femelles agees chez qui la chute des quantites de monoenes-7 est compensee par de plus fortes proportions de monoenes-5. Les glandes labiales cephaliques des males produisent essentiellement un compose non determine, peut-etre un hexanoate d'alcool a chaine ramifiee. La secretion de la glande de dufour est caracterisee par une serie homologue d'esters d'octyle, leur production diminue chez les femelles nidifiantes. Le contenu des glandes labiales thoraciques est constitue des memes acides gras que ceux trouves sur la cuticule. Les quantites d'acide linoleique augmentent chez les femelles nidifiantes. Les jeunes femelles et leur extrait pentanique provoquent un accroissement de l'activite des males: ils explorent alors les taches sombres et bondissent sur la femelle si elle est decouverte. Seule la fraction, de cet extrait, contenant les monoenes retablit ces comportements chez les males

Dramatic changes in ambient temperature can have a significant impact on insect physiology throughout development. The accumulations of the deleterious physiological effects throughout low temperature exposure are collectively known as chill injury. The mechanisms underpinning the downstream physiological consequences of chill injury such as oxidative stress, perturbations in ion homeostasis, and changes in metabolism have yet to be elucidated. Brief, daily pulses of increased temperatures have been shown to repair and/or protect against the continued accumulation of chill injury, leading to an increase in survival across several insect taxa. Until recently, no transcriptomic-level assessments of gene expression during low temperature stress had been conducted. In this document I present a comparison of low-temperature stress response mechanisms across life stages in the alfalfa leafcutting bee, Megachile rotundata. RNA-seq, qPCR and oxidative stress assays were used to determine the physiological effects of low temperature exposure on two life stages: one adapted for low-temperature exposure and one that is not. Differential expression analysis revealed distinct gene expression profiles between life stages. The lack of overlap in expression profiles suggests different mechanisms are driving the response. Furthermore, an overlap in the functional classes of differentially expressed transcripts suggest that the response may be physiologically robust, even though the response is variable at the level of gene expression. Gene expression suggests oxidative stress may be a critical component in chill injury response and recovery. Antioxidant activity and lipid peroxidation, a common proxy for oxidative stress, were assessed in both life stages. M. rotundata’s ability to cope with an induced oxidative stress did not vary between treatments in either life stage. Furthermore, a lack of statistical differences between treatments in lipid peroxidative do not support the hypothesis that the benefits of fluctuating temperatures are, in part, due to reduction in oxidative stress.
NDSU GraSUS Fellowship
USDA-ARS
North Dakota State University. Department of Biological Sciences
Sheila Kath Scholarship

Spring conditions stimulate development of many plants and animals after a period of winter dormancy. Climate change is predicted to cause earlier spring thaws, increasing temperature variability, and more frequent cold snaps. These conditions cause two problems for organisms. First, environmental cues may mislead organisms developing under these scenarios if temperature and photoperiod cues give conflicting information. Second, organisms outside of their overwintering stages can be less tolerant of cold exposure and may be at risk of injury or death. Little is known about the consequences of these conditions on bee species. Therefore, I examined these scenarios in a solitary bee species, Megachile rotundata. I hypothesized they would be sensitive to temperature changes to regulate spring emergence because of their cavity nesting life history where photoperiod cues likely buffered. I found light is buffered by the brood cell by approximately 80% and emergence can be synchronized by photoperiod. Furthermore, I demonstrated that M. rotundata may be more sensitive to temperature cues compared to photoperiod cues in regulating emergence. To understand how spring cold snaps during development affect adult bees, I comprehensively assayed M. rotundata cold tolerance. I discovered that cold exposure during development resulted in numerous sub-lethal effects in adult bees such as a decrease in flight performance and longevity. Furthermore, developmental cold stress affected adult thermal performance, such as chill coma recovery. Cold tolerance varies across development and the post-diapause quiescent stage was more tolerant to cold than pupal or emergence ready stages. Temperature fluctuations of spring may affect the timing of emergence but also the health of adult bees if they experienced a cold snap during development.
Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship

Megachile rotundata is an agriculturally important pollinator of alfalfa and is not doing well in the U.S due to a 50% return rate (Pitts-Singer and Bosch, 2011). Nesting boxes can reach temperatures between 35˚C-48˚C (see Chapter 2). These temperatures can cause damage to multiple stages of development, including death (Barthel et al. 2002, Rossie et al. 2010). To date, it is unclear how cavity temperature varies across the box. Traditionally, nesting cavity temperatures have been monitored using 1-3 temperature probes to measure thousands of cavities (CaraDonna et al. 2018). These methods do not account for the accuracy of the temperature probe to depict temperatures several cm away from the probe. To asses this variation I have designed a 3D printed nesting box that holds one temperature probe for every four cavities. I found that cavity temperature impacts nesting preference, and survival, of the alfalfa leafcutting bee.
United States. Department of Agriculture
North Dakota State University. Department of Biological Sciences
North Dakota State University. College of Science and Mathematics
NSF IOS 1557940
NSF EPSCoR 1826834

Made available in DSpace on 2015-04-17T14:55:16Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 1302187 bytes, checksum: c5e711d7d5aae70cd68adbb071c9becf (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-02-25
Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES
Terrestrial ecosystems, solitary bees and wasps play important roles as pollinators, predators and parasites. Most part of the life of these Hymenoptera is designed to aspects related to nesting, including the search of the nest site, nest construction and food collection to rear the larvae. However, in natural environments the nests of these insects are difficult to find. A solution to this problem, at least for some species, is the use of artificial burrows in the field (trap nests). Using trap nests it is possible to collect standardized samples and to study the biology of some species. Thus, the community of solitary bees and wasps, nesting in trap nests was evaluated using parameters such as richness, diversity and nest abundance in two different agroecosystems of the state of Pernambuco, northeastern Brazil: sugarcane monoculture and polyculture. Moreover, the natural history and nesting biology of a bee species (Megachile dentipes) collected in the trap nests was studied. In this study, the main aspects of life history (seasonality, diameter of the nests, sex ratio, parasitism, development time) and nesting biology (nest architecture, nesting behavior, larval diet) was studied. Insects were sampled using the technique of trap nests, which consisted of 1) cardboard tubes inserted into blocks of wood of different diameters (4, 6, 8 and 10 mm), and 2) wooden planks, drilled lengthwise (5, 6, 8, 10 and 12 mm in diameter) and covered with a transparent plastic sheet (observation-nests). In each agroecosystem 3.360 cardboard tubes were available for nesting during one year (June/2009 to May/2010) and 1000 holes of observationnests during five months (October/2009 to February/2010). In the monoculture a total of 259 nests, 86 (33.2%) build by bees and 173 (66.8%) by wasps were sampled. Five species of bees were sampled, and Megachile dentipes was the most abundant bee species in the sugarcane (n = 76; 85%). In the polyculture area, 411 nests were collected, being 254 (61.8%) of bees and 157 (38.2%) of wasps. In this environment, 14 spp. nesting bee species were recorded. The leaf-cutter bee Megachile dentipes was also the most abundant (n = 117 nests, 46%). The abundance of bee nests, species richness and diversity of bees and wasps was significantly higher in the polyculture area compared to monoculture area. It is suggested that plant richness is a determining factor in the occurrence of the species. However, other factors such as distance from forest fragments and the use of herbicides and burning, might have influence in the low richness and diversity of bees and wasps in the area with sugarcane monoculture. Regarding Megachile dentipes it was shown that it is an polilectic species, collecting pollen from a wide spectrum pollen from mainly five botanical families: Asteraceae, Rubiaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Mimosaceae and Scrophulariaceae. This species showed a clear preference for nesting in the dry periods of the year in both studied areas, with peaks in October and December. Furthermore, this species had several generations throughout the year (multivoltine). It was demonstrated experimentally that recognition of the cavities by females is determined by the nest position in the blocks. Probably, chemical signals (marking the cavity) are not used, at least in the initial recognition of the nests. Nest structure of M. dentipes differs from most species because the lining of the brood cell is made from chewed leaves unlike the other species that involve the brood cells with whole leaves not chewed.. Biological and ecological characteristics of M. dentipes, as e.g. abundance and poliletia, makes this species a good candidate for management programs aimed at pollination, but further studies are necessary for that purpose.
Nos ecossistemas terrestres, abelhas e vespas solitárias desempenham essenciais papéis como polinizadores, predadores e parasitas. Grande parte da vida das fêmeas desses himenopteros é destinada à nidificação, como busca pelo local do ninho, construção do ninho e coleta do alimento larval. Contudo, os ninhos desses insetos em ambientes naturais são difíceis de serem encontrados. Uma solução para este problema, pelo menos para algumas espécies, é a utilização de cavidades artificiais no campo (ninhosarmadilha), uma vez que amostragens dos ninhos podem ser realizadas de forma padronizada em diferentes ambientes, além de fornecerem dados acerca da biologia das espécies capturadas. Diante disso, a comunidade de abelhas e vespas solitárias nidificantes em ninhos armadilha foi avaliada a partir de parâmetros como riqueza, diversidade e abundância de ninhos em dois agroecossistemas em Pernambuco: monocultura canavieira e sistema de policultura. Além disso, foi estudada a história natural e biologia de nidificação da espécie de abelha (Megachile dentipes) mais abundante nos ninhos-armadilha. Neste estudo foram avaliados os principais aspectos relacionados à história de vida (sazonalidade, razão sexual, parasitismo, tempo de desenvolvimento) e biologia de nidificação (arquitetura do ninho, comportamento de nidificação, dieta larval) de M. dentipes. Os insetos foram amostrados através da técnica de ninhos-armadilha, que consistiu de 1) tubos de cartolina inseridos em blocos de madeira de diferentes diâmetros (4, 6, 8 e 10 mm), e 2) pranchas de madeira, perfuradas longitudinalmente (5, 6, 8, 10 e 12 mm de diâmetro), cobertas com uma lâmina plástica transparente (ninhos-observação). Em cada agroecossistema estudado, foram disponibilizados para nidificação 3.360 tubos de cartolina ao longo de um ano (junho/2009 a maio/2010), e 1.000 cavidades de ninhos-observação durante cinco meses (outubro/2009 a fevereiro/2010). Um total de 259 ninhos, sendo 86 (33,2%) de abelhas e 173 (66,8%) de vespas foi coletado nas armadilhas instaladas na monocultura. Foram amostradas 5 espécies de abelhas, dentre elas, Megachile dentipes, a espécie de abelha mais abundante no canavial (n=76; 85%). Na área com policultura, foram coletados 411 ninhos, sendo 254 (61,8%) de abelhas e 157 (38,2%) de vespas. Neste ambiente, foram registradas 14 spp. de abelhas nidificantes ninhos armadilha. Mais uma vez, a espécie de abelha corta folha Megachile dentipes foi a mais abundante em número de ninhos (n=117; 46%). A abundância de ninhos de abelhas e a riqueza e diversidade de espécies de abelhas e vespas nidificantes em ninhos-armadilha foi significativamente maior em área de policultura quando comparada à monocultura canavieira. É sugerido que a riqueza florística de cada área seja um fator determinante na ocorrência das espécies. Contudo, fatores como a distância de fragmentos de mata e a utilização de herbicidas e queimadas, podem ter colaborado para uma baixa riqueza e diversidade de abelhas e vespas na área com monocultura canavieira. Quanto à espécie Megachile dentipes, observou-se que trata-se de uma espécie polilética, que coleta pólen de um amplo espectro polínico envolvendo, principalmente, cinco famílias botânicas: Asteraceae, Rubiaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Mimosaceae e Scrophulariaceae. Esta espécie mostrou uma clara preferência em fundar ninhos nos períodos mais secos do ano, em ambas as áreas estudadas, com picos de nidificação em outubro e dezembro. Além disso, apresentou várias gerações ao longo do ano (multivoltina). Foi demonstrado experimentalmente que o reconhecimento das cavidades pelas fêmeas baseia-se na posição em que o orifício se encontra no bloco de ninhos-armadilha. Provavelmente, não estão envolvidos sinais químicos (marcação da cavidade) ao menos no reconhecimento inicial dos ninhos. A estrutura do ninho de M. dentipes difere da maioria das espécies descritas até o momento, pois o revestimento da célula de cria é feito com folhas trituradas (manipuladas), diferentemente das demais espécies que envolvem as células de cria com folhas inteiras não trituradas. Características biológicas e ecológicas de M. dentipes, como e.g. abundância e polilectia, tornam esta espécie uma boa candidata a programas de manejo visando a polinização, embora sejam necessários mais estudos direcionados a essa finalidade.

Over the last several decades, the use of solitary bees as an alternative to honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) for pollination of commercial crops has increased, in part as a response to ongoing problems faced by commercial honey bee populations. Two solitary bee species have exhibited great commercial potential: the blue orchard bee, Osmia lignaria Say, and the alfalfa leafcutting bee, Megachile rotundata Fabricius (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae). However, growth of O. lignaria and M. rotundata populations is limited in commercial systems, mainly due to low establishment of females at provided nesting sites, possibly due to mortality, dispersal, or other causes. Rough handling of pre-emergent bees may possibly contribute to post-emergence dispersal in O. lignaria. The current work addressed this hypothesis by using shaking as a proxy for rough handling. However, shaken bees did not establish fewer nests than unshaken bees. Therefore, commercial fruit growers using O. lignaria as pollinators should be able to remove cocoons from their nests as part of their management plan, without fear of increasing bee dispersal. When searching for a nest site, M. rotundata females are known to be attracted to previously used nest materials. The current work verified the attraction of M. rotundata females to old conspecific nests. It also sought to determine which nest components were most attractive to females. It was found that all components were equally attractive. It may be useful to establish these species' learning abilities in a laboratory setting. The current work attempted to design a conditioning protocol for solitary bees. Initially, a method utilizing the proboscis extension reflex was sought. However, O. lignaria and M. rotundata did not reflexively extend their proboscises upon antennal stimulation with sucrose solution. Therefore, another method of conditioning was implemented. Bees were conditioned to respond to floral odors in a feeding bioassay. Results are compared for both species, as well as for males and females. The research completed for this dissertation may provide helpful information for commercial managers of solitary bees seeking to decrease both bee dispersal and the incidence of disease and parasites.

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.

Introdução: Abelhas pela sua estreita relação de dependência com as plantas são modelos utilizados nos estudos de diversidade e monitoramento em diferentes paisagens naturais. Para sua captura, existem várias metodologias, entre elas está o uso de ninhos-armadilhas. Essa técnica consiste no oferecimento de cavidades artificiais de nidificação e foi desenvolvida baseada no comportamento de grupos de vespas e abelhas solitárias que usam galerias existentes em troncos de árvores, cupinzeiros para construção dos ninhos. Os ninhos fundados permitem a obtenção de dados importantes sobre os recursos explorados pelas espécies. Objetivo: O objetivo desse trabalho foi investigar a diversidade e biologia de abelhas e vespas no campus da UESB em Vitória da Conquista – BA. Material e Métodos: Quatro diferentes tipos de ninhos-armadilhas foram testados e instalados na borda de uma Floresta Estacional Semidecídua localizada no campus da UESB. O primeiro modelo foi confeccionado com bloco de madeira de cedro, com 98 furos, contendo dois diâmetros diferentes. No outro foi usado placas de isopor preenchidos com canudos de papel madeira com o mesmo comprimento e diâmetros. O terceiro foi feito com um cano PVC com 15 centímetros de comprimento e 5 centímetros de diâmetro, preenchidos também com canudos de papel madeira. O último foi formado por quatro bambus, sendo cada um com diâmetro diferente e preso entre si por uma borracha elástica, para que pudessem ficar firmes na cerca. Resultados: Dos quatro ninhos-armadilhas testados, apenas dois demostraram algum resultado. Na primeira armadilha, dois gêneros de abelhas foram encontrados, Megachile e Centris e no quarto ninho-armadilha que foi obtido um maior resultado, com destaque entre as vespas, que apresentaram 9 ninhos, sendo 7 deles de Isodontia, 1 de Trypoxylon e 1 de Eumenidae, e apenas um gênero de abelha foi identificado, o Megachile, o mesmo encontrado na primeira armadilha, o que pode demostrar que sua ocorrência naquela região é significativa. Conclusão: Acredita-se que devido a grande estiagem naquele ano e o longo período de altas temperaturas, o número de ninhos-armadilhas fecundados foi baixo, já que abelhas e vespas necessitam de um pouco de umidade para sua sobrevivência.