We examined stress responses and survival in developmental stages of the invasive solitary bee Megachile apicalis Spinola during two nesting seasons in the Central Valley of California to consider whether abiotic stress tolerance of its offspring contributes to this species' successful colonization of the western United States. In 2001 and 2003, artificial nesting cavities were affixed to verti...

Society is increasingly concerned with declining wild bee populations. Although most bees nest in the ground, considerable effort has centered on installing 'bee hotels'--also known as nest boxes or trap nests--which artificially aggregate nest sites of above ground nesting bees. Campaigns to 'save the bees' often promote these devices despite the absence of data indicating they have a positive...

Many ant species and some social bees display size-related polyethism, often referred to as alloethism (Wilson, 1971). For example bumblebees (Bombus spp.) exhibit alloethism; there is great size variation within the worker caste, and large bees tend to be foragers, while smaller bees tend to perform within-nest tasks (reviewed in Goulson, 2003). In contrast, honeybees workers are approximately...

ABSTRACT In alfalfa, Medicago sativa L., seed production where high bee densities are released, alfalfa leafcutting bee, Megachile rotundata (F.) (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae), females may enter several nesting holes before locating their nests. Such levels of "wrong hole" visits lead to an increase in the time spent by females locating their own nests, thereby decreasing alfalfa pollination effi...

In the present study we compare genetic characteristics (allele diversity and observed heterozygosity) of microsatellite loci, from three stingless bee species (Plebeia remota Holmberg, Partamona mulata Moure In Camargo and Partamona helleri Friese), amplified by using heterospecific primers originally designed for Melipona bicolor Lepeletier and Scaptotrigona postica Latreille. We analyzed 360...

Insect societies are well-known for their advanced cooperation, but their colonies are also vulnerable to reproductive parasitism. Here, we present a novel example of an intraspecific social parasitism in a highly eusocial bee, the stingless bee Melipona scutellaris. In particular, we provide genetic evidence which shows that, upon loss of the mother queen, many colonies are invaded by unrelate...

As honey bee populations decline, interest in pathogenic and mutualistic relationships between bees and microorganisms has increased. Honey bees and bumble bees appear to have a simple intestinal bacterial fauna that includes acidophilic bacteria. Here, we explore the hypothesis that sweat bees can acquire acidophilic bacteria from the environment. To quantify bacterial communities associated w...

Apis cerana is a honey bee species with cavity hive known as the eastern bee. Honey hives have Indigenous bacteria that antimicrobial potential. are free can synthesize nitrogen compounds, sugars, and other bioactive substances. This study aims to isolate, identify test antibacterial of isolate against gram-positive Staphylococus aureus gram-negative Escherichia coli. used descriptive research ...

Perdita (Macrotera) texana is a ground nesting, univoltine, facultatively communal bee species found in western Texas and southern Oklahoma. As many as 28 females may share a single nest, but most nests have no more than five females and approximately 25% of the nests are occupied by a single female. Most nests are constructed de novo each year but some females reuse their natal nests. These is...