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Artificial nest boxes for solitary bees and other cavity-nesting Hymenoptera are increasingly used for a variety of purposes, including ecological research, crop pollination support and public outreach. Their attractivity and colonization success by cavity-nesting solitary bees depend on their design and placement, including hole dimensions, orientation and the neighboring habitats and available resources. While most bee nest boxes are made of wooden materials, we assessed here the suitability of perennial, concrete nest boxes for cavity-nesting bees. We carried out a three-year nesting survey of 52 custom-made nest boxes located in 11 different sites throughout France and totaling 2912 available holes of 6, 8, 10 or 12 mm in diameter. Concrete nest boxes successfully attracted reproductive females of solitary bee species and supported successful larval development until the emergence of new individuals. Preferred cavities were the smallest ones (6-8 mm), located at the lowest tested positions above ground (31-47 cm) and oriented southward. Local bee populations established in nest boxes steadily increased throughout the three successive seasons in nearly all study sites. The cavity-nesting bee communities were mostly composed of rather common and generalist species, but also comprised a foraging specialist. Additionally, two cleptoparasitic bee species were detected. All species belonged to the Megachilidae. We further discuss the effects of neighboring urban and natural habitats as potential source or sink of nesting bees, as well as opportunities of concrete nest boxes as tools for urban agriculture and more generally for the new biomimetic urban designs to restore local ecosystem services in cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Xylocopa is an important genus in Hymenoptera: Apidae because it not only contributes to research on the early stages of insect social evolution but also provides useful information for the pollination of cultivated and native plants. The nesting behaviour of Vietnamese Xylocopa bees has not yet been studied. The present study aims to contribute to the knowledge of the nesting behaviour of X. (Biluna) nasalis and X. (Alloxylocopa) phalothorax from Vietnam. Whereas X. nasalis used dead bamboo culms for its nesting site and excavated the nest entrance usually on lateral sides, X. phalothorax utilized a dead wood branch for its nesting site, dug the nest entrance from the underside, and constructed a longitudinally median burrow in the branch. Xylocopa nasalis nested social, and the nests of both bees were unbranched. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dung beetles belonging to the subfamily Scarabaeinae are ecologically important organisms that feed primarily on mammalian dung for their nesting and brooding. The paracoprids are characterized for their complex tunnel-making behaviour. The present study revealed the role of neurotransmitters in the nesting behaviour of Digitonthophagus gazella (Fabricius in Mantissa insectorum sistens species nuper detectas adiectis synonymis, observation ibus, descriptionibus, emendationibus, 1787) (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) under laboratory conditions. The development period was observed to be 31 days, comprising of four stages- egg, larva (1st instar, 2nd instar, and 3rd instar), pupa, and adult. The nesting pattern of D. gazella showed a time dependent increase in the length (14.7 ± 0.1 cm, 16.9 ± 0.1 cm and 19.8 ± 0.1 cm), and total depth (9.8 ± 0.1 cm, 12.9 ± 0.1 cm and 13.5 ± 0.1 cm) of the tunnel on 10th, 20th, and 30th day. Estimation of the neurotransmitters revealed that acetylcholine esterase (AChE), biogenic amines- 5-hydroxytryptamine serotonin (5-HT); dopamine (DA), and nitric oxide (NO) increased significantly (p < 0.01) in a time dependent manner in both male and female, suggesting their role in parental behaviour. These results provide the first evidence for a potential role of neurotransmitters in the modulation of nesting behaviour of the dung beetle; D. gazella. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The population of Gentoo Penguins (Pygoscelis papua) in the maritime Antarctic is rapidly increasing. Due to regional climate changes, they colonise previously inaccessible territories southwards. For more than a century, the southernmost colony of Gentoo Penguins was located on Petermann Island (Wilhelm Archipelago). Since 2002, several colonies were established nearby, including on Cape Tuxen (Graham Land), which is currently the southernmost breeding colony documented for this species on the Antarctic Peninsula. It increased from 100 nests in 2007 to 592 nests in 2020. Since a colony is located on the cliffs and there is a lack of pebbles, some breeding pairs started building their nests predominantly out of the nearby living mosses or moss banks. P. papua are known for using mosses as nesting material in the sub-Antarctic, but such nesting behaviour is new for southernmost colonies in the Antarctic. In this short note, we report such nests on the Cape Tuxen, provide photographs and discuss the possible impact on the terrestrial ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parental care is a rather common reproductive strategy in fishes, particularly in species with low fecundity and large eggs as the Antarctic icefish (Channichthyidae). The infrequent use of underwater devices to record fish behaviour and the logistic limitations of operating in the Antarctic marine environment have prevented, so far, the collection of data about rare species. Integrating results from benthic trawling and underwater photographic images, we provide the first demographic and reproductive behavioural data for the channichthyid Neopagetopsis ionah, describing the nesting and parental care behaviour of a spawning population in the south-eastern Weddell Sea. The population sampled by the Agassiz trawl was dominated by females, and consisted of several post-spawning as well as a few mature females spread over a narrow size range. Based on otolith reading, the population included two cohorts estimated as four- and five-year-old fish. Following common trade-off between fecundity and egg size, females of N. ionah spawned few large eggs (733–1810 eggs/female, 4.9–6.5 mm in diameter). The nesting site was characterized by fine sediments with sparse gravel and the accompanying benthic invertebrate community showed low densities and was relatively poor. A total of 93 nests were counted along the video transect, most of them with a single guarding male or left unattended. Fish remains or whole dead specimens were frequently observed in the proximity of the nest. This observation represents the first record of post-spawning mortality associated with parental care which has never been documented before in Antarctic fishes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite a rapidly improving fossil record, the reproductive biology of Mesozoic birds remains poorly known: only a handful of undisputed, isolated Cretaceous eggs (some containing embryonic remains) are known. We report here the first fossil evidence for a breeding colony of Mesozoic birds, preserved at the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) Oarda de Jos (Od) site in the Sebeş area of Transylvania, Romania. A lens of calcareous mudstone with minimum dimensions of 80 cm length, 50 cm width and 20 cm depth contains thousands of tightly packed, morphologically homogenous eggshell fragments, seven near-complete eggs and neonatal and adult avialan skeletal elements. Eggshell forms 70-80 % of the matrix, and other fossils are entirely absent. The bones exhibit clear characters of the Cretaceous avialan clade Enantiornithes, and the eggshell morphology is also consistent with this identification. Both taphonomy and lithology show that the components of this lens were deposited in a single flood event, and we conclude that it represents the drowned remains of a larger enantiornithine breeding colony, swamped by rising water, washed a short distance and deposited in a shallow, low-energy pond. The same fate often befalls modern bird colonies. Such a large concentration of breeding birds suggests aquatic feeding in this species, augments our understanding of enantiornithine biology and shows that colonial nesting was not unique to crown birds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A fascinating pollination system has been evolved between perfume producing flowers and perfume collecting male euglossine bees in the neotropics. Detailed investigations have contributed to an understanding of the interactions between euglossine males and flowers as a pollination system. The role which the collected perfume plays in the reproductive behaviour of euglossine bees is not fully understood. A favoured hypothesis suggests that the collected fragrances are used as precursors for male sex pheromones and thus serve to attract conspecific males or females. It is not known how perfume collection behaviour evolved. Here, an evolutionary approach presents a new hypothesis which suggests that the evolution of perfume collection in euglossine males is based upon pre-existing signals which were attractive to females and males. It is further suggested that, at the evolutionary outset, flowers mimicked nest sites to deceive nest-seeking euglossine bees. In addition, a comparative study was undertaken on the phenomena of nest-mimicking flowers in related bee families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]