Abstract While Ethiopia has six species of stingless bees, indigenous knowledge them not been well documented. In southwestern Ethiopia, we documented the Sheka community’s bees. We used snowball sampling technique to locate 60 experienced honey collectors, conducted semi-structured interviews, and complemented interviews with field observations during collection trips interviewees. Given scarc...

The effects of carpenter bee nests were determined for components timber buildings. An eaves purlin structure was taken as the experimental object, and medical computed tomography (CT) used to reconstruct sectional image purlin. digital reconstruction technology obtain three-dimensional (3D) images two purlins. One not damaged, other seriously eroded by bees. displayed, purlins simulated direct...

In-nest observations of the solitary bee, Megachile rotundata (F.), revealed that nesting females apply olfactory cues to nests for nest recognition. On their way in and out of the nest, females drag the abdomen along the entire length of the nest, and sometimes deposit fluid droplets from the tip of the abdomen. The removal of bee-marked sections of the nest resulted in hesitation and searchin...

During the nest-founding phase of the bumble bee colony cycle, queens undergo striking changes in maternal care behavior. Early in the founding phase, prior to the emergence of workers in the nest, queens are reproductive and also provision and feed their offspring. However, later in the founding phase, queens reduce their feeding of larvae and become specialized on reproduction. This transitio...

Bees are the primary pollinators of flowering plants in almost all ecosystems. Worldwide declines in bee populations have raised awareness about the importance of their ecological role in maintaining ecosystem functioning. The naturally strong philopatric behavior that some bee species show can be detrimental to population viability through increased probability of inbreeding. Furthermore, bee ...

Studies of avian host-parasite interactions rarely include consequences of relationships among hosts for either the host or parasite species. In this study, we examine the ectoparasitic burden of adult and nestling European bee-eaters (Merops apiaster) and rock sparrows (Petronia petronia) in a mixed colony. We found that (1) each bird species had its own species of lice; (2) hematophagous mite...

Intensive beekeeping to mitigate crop pollination deficits and habitat loss may cause interspecific competition between bees. Studies show negative correlations between flower visitation of honey bees (Apis mellifera) and wild bees, but effects on the reproduction of wild bees were not proven. Likely reasons are that honey bees can hardly be excluded from controls and wild bee nests are general...

Abstract Ectotherms usually require a narrow range of thermal conditions for development; thus, parental selection oviposition sites is crucial. In field experiment, we investigated female solitary red mason bee ( Osmia bicornis ) preferences potential nest site temperatures and their effects on offspring development. The results showed that bees detected avoided with high (28°C) often chose co...