Pollen Collected and Foraging Activities of Frieseomelitta varia (Lepeletier) (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in an Urban Landscape

Cities provide resources for animal species that live within them or inhabit their surroundings. This has motivated an increase in ecological studies of urban areas, including the interactions between plants and pollinators. From March 2010 to February 2011, the flowering plants present in the study area, located at the Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, were sampled to evaluate how floral sources were distributed throughout the year. Concurrently, worker bees with pollen loads were collected from four colonies of Frieseomelitta varia (Lepeletier, 1836) to identify the sources used by bees. Despite an increase in plant species abundance in July, plants were in bloom year-round and consequently, the production and supply of floral resources were continuous. The workers collected resources from 77 plant species, but only three were extensively exploited. Delonix regia (Leguminosae), Poincianella pluviosa (Leguminosae) and Ceiba speciosa (Malvaceae) accounted for 42% of total pollen grains quantified during the year, showing that F. varia intensify pollen collection at few sources at spatiotemporal scale. This study emphasizes the importance of native urban flora to maintain F. varia and other bee species. The list of plants presented in this study can be used in the design and planning of urban areas

Trophic niche of oil-collecting bees of Centridini and Tetrapediini tribes (Hymenoptera, Apidae) in different biological scales

Informações sobre as plantas visitadas pelas abelhas para a obtenção de recursos alimentares são importantes para conhecimento básico de padrões ecológicos e também para a aplicação desse conhecimento na polinização de plantas cultivadas. Por isso, faz-se necessário não somente conhecer quais plantas são fontes de pólen, néctar e/ou óleo para as abelhas, mas também analisar e compreender como essas plantas são utilizadas. Pode-se, então, estudar o uso dos recursos alimentares em diferentes escalas biológicas: individual, populacional ou comunitária. Nesse contexto, estudando-se espécies de abelhas solitárias coletoras de óleo, este trabalho objetivou compreender como indivíduos de duas populações de Epicharis dejeanii (Centridini) do litoral paulista contribuem para o nicho trófico da espécie. A sobreposição/partição dos recursos alimentares também foi estudada para populações de três espécies de Tetrapedia: T. curvitarsis, T. diversipes e T. rugulosa em uma área de cerrado. Aplicando-se a metodologia de análise polínica do resíduo pós-emergencial dos ninhos-armadilha aliada a um levantamento florístico-fenológico das plantas da área, observou-se que as três espécies de Tetrapedia estudadas ao longo de um ano são generalistas. Apesar disso, concentram suas coletas em poucas espécies de plantas, especialmente em espécies do gênero Croton (Euphorbiaceae). O mesmo padrão foi observado para as populações de E. dejeanii estudadas no litoral paulista: muitas plantas são visitadas, mas poucas intensamente exploradas. Neste caso, os tipos polínicos mais utilizados pertencem às famílias Melastomataceae, Myrtaceae e Malpighiaceae, com destaque para o tipo Tibouchina (Melastomataceae). Para todas as espécies de abelhas estudadas, Malpighiaceae foi a única família de plantas visitadas para a obtenção de óleo floral, que é utilizado na construção e no aprovisionamento de células de cria. As duas populações estudadas de E. dejeanii eram compostas por indivíduos generalistas e especialistas. Mas, os tipos polínicos utilizados pelos indivíduos especialistas estão contemplados na dieta dos indivíduos generalistas. Isso indica que a população provavelmente compartilha um mesmo ranking de fontes de recursos preferidasInformation about which plants are visited by bees for gathering food resources is important for basic understanding of ecological patterns and also for applying this knowledge in crop pollination. Therefore, it is necessary to know the plant species that provide pollen, nectar and/or oil for the bees, as well as analyze and understand how these plants are used by them. For this, we can study the use of food resources at different biological scales: individual, population or community level. Within this context, studying solitary oil-collecting bees, this study aimed to understand how individuals of Epicharis dejeanii (Centridini) from two populations of São Paulo Coast contribute to the trophic niche of this species. The overlap/partition of food resources was also studied in a Cerrado area, using populations of three species of Tetrapedia: T. curvitarsis, T. diversipes and T. rugulosa. Through the method of pollen analysis of post-emergency residues from trap-nests, combined with floristic and phenological surveys of plants from the area, we found that the three species of Tetrapedia studied over one year are generalists. Despite this, the bees concentrated their collections in just a few plant species, especially in the genus Croton (Euphorbiaceae). The same pattern was observed in populations of E. dejeanii of the São Paulo Coast, where many plants are visited, but only a few are intensively exploited. In this case, pollen types intensively used belong to Melastomataceae, Myrtaceae and Malpighiaceae, highlighting the Tibouchina kind (Melastomataceae). For all studied bees, Malpighiaceae was the only plant family visited for floral oil gathering, an essential resource for the construction and provisioning of brood cells. Regarding E. dejeanii, the two populations studied were composed of generalist and specialist individuals, being the pollen types used by specialist individuals included in the diet of the generalist ones. These results indicate that the population probably shares the same ranking of preferred source

Foraging of Scaptotrigona aff. depilis (Hymenoptera, Apidae) in an Urbanized Area: Seasonality in Resource Availability and Visited Plants

The floral sources used by bees can be identified by analyzing pollen grains obtained from their bodies, feces, brood cells, or storage pots in the nests. In addition to data on resource availability, this information enables the investigation on the selection of food resource by bees. We assessed the foraging patterns of Scaptotrigona aff. depilis in an urbanized area with seasonal availability of food resources. The species visited a percentage of 36.60% of the available flora, suggesting that these bees are selective at spatiotemporal scale. When many types of resources were available, the workers concentrated their collection activities on a limited group of sources. In contrast, more plant species were exploited during periods of lower number of flowering plants. A monthly analysis of the foraging patterns of the studied colonies revealed that Syzygium cumini (88.86%), Mimosa sp.1 (80.23%), Schinus terebinthifolius (63.36%), and Eucalyptus citriodora (61.75%) were the most frequently used species and are therefore important for maintaining S. aff. depilis at the study area. These plants are close to the colonies and exhibit mass flowering. This study is one of few works to quantify natural resource availability and to analyze the effects of flowering seasonality on the selection of food sources by bees

Nesting biology of Centris (Paracentris) burgdorfi (Apidae: Centridini)

We describe the nesting biology of Centris (Paracentris) burgdorfi, a solitary bee that nests in sandstone in northeastern Brazil. The nest consists of a shallow tunnel with access to the brood cells. Females of C. burgdorfi made 1-7 brood cells per nest with each cell requiring 2.58 +/- 0.40 ( +/- SD) days to construct. The average cell-building construction time was longer when compared to other Centris species. Females were larger than males, and this difference was reflected in the size of their respective emergence cells. The temperature within C. burgdorfi nests was lower when compared to ambient temperature. Our study is the first to report the nesting biology of C. burgdorfi. The detailed behavior of the female inside the nest was also described, which is unusual in the study of solitary bee nesting biology.12 month embargo; published online: 30 January 2020This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]

Brazilian Flora 2020: Leveraging the power of a collaborative scientific network

International audienceThe shortage of reliable primary taxonomic data limits the description of biological taxa and the understanding of biodiversity patterns and processes, complicating biogeographical, ecological, and evolutionary studies. This deficit creates a significant taxonomic impediment to biodiversity research and conservation planning. The taxonomic impediment and the biodiversity crisis are widely recognized, highlighting the urgent need for reliable taxonomic data. Over the past decade, numerous countries worldwide have devoted considerable effort to Target 1 of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC), which called for the preparation of a working list of all known plant species by 2010 and an online world Flora by 2020. Brazil is a megadiverse country, home to more of the world's known plant species than any other country. Despite that, Flora Brasiliensis, concluded in 1906, was the last comprehensive treatment of the Brazilian flora. The lack of accurate estimates of the number of species of algae, fungi, and plants occurring in Brazil contributes to the prevailing taxonomic impediment and delays progress towards the GSPC targets. Over the past 12 years, a legion of taxonomists motivated to meet Target 1 of the GSPC, worked together to gather and integrate knowledge on the algal, plant, and fungal diversity of Brazil. Overall, a team of about 980 taxonomists joined efforts in a highly collaborative project that used cybertaxonomy to prepare an updated Flora of Brazil, showing the power of scientific collaboration to reach ambitious goals. This paper presents an overview of the Brazilian Flora 2020 and provides taxonomic and spatial updates on the algae, fungi, and plants found in one of the world's most biodiverse countries. We further identify collection gaps and summarize future goals that extend beyond 2020. Our results show that Brazil is home to 46,975 native species of algae, fungi, and plants, of which 19,669 are endemic to the country. The data compiled to date suggests that the Atlantic Rainforest might be the most diverse Brazilian domain for all plant groups except gymnosperms, which are most diverse in the Amazon. However, scientific knowledge of Brazilian diversity is still unequally distributed, with the Atlantic Rainforest and the Cerrado being the most intensively sampled and studied biomes in the country. In times of “scientific reductionism”, with botanical and mycological sciences suffering pervasive depreciation in recent decades, the first online Flora of Brazil 2020 significantly enhanced the quality and quantity of taxonomic data available for algae, fungi, and plants from Brazil. This project also made all the information freely available online, providing a firm foundation for future research and for the management, conservation, and sustainable use of the Brazilian funga and flora