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Insect population decline has been reported worldwide, including those of pollinators important for ecosystem services. Therefore, conservation actions which rely on available rigorous species distribution data are necessary to protect biodiversity. Niche modeling is an appropriate approach to distribution maps, but when it comes to bumble bees, few studies have been performed in South America. We modeled ecological niches of nine Colombian Bombus species with MAXENT 3.4 software using bioclimatic variables available from WorldClim. This resulted in maps for each species that show the potential distribution area at the present time. Modeled species maps accurately represent potential niches according to the description of bioclimatic conditions in the species’ habitat. We grouped the species into three clusters based on our results, as well as on distributional information from literature on the topic: High Mountain, Mid- Mountain and inter-Andean, and the Amazon and Eastern Plains Basin. Niche modeling depicted bumble bee species’ distribution in Colombia, the results of which can serve as a useful tool for conservation policies in the country.

Stingless bees have a sophisticated system of chemical communication that helps conspecifics find food sources. In this study, we investigated whether Melipona beecheii foragers deposit a chemical mark on food to recruit conspecifics. Our results showed that foragers preferred to visit the feeders visited previously by conspecifics over clean feeders. We also found that foragers preferred visiting feeders baited with labial gland extracts over those baited with mandibular extracts or hexane. Labial gland extracts elicited higher forager antennal responses compared with those evoked by the mandibular gland extracts or hexane. Labial gland extracts and extracts from feeders visited by foragers contain a mixture of unsaturated hydrocarbons, followed by straight chain hydrocarbons and small quantities of esters. The main component is a mixture of alkene isomers C27:1.

A multitude of hymenopteran species exhibit sexual dimorphism for simple traits, such as color, size, or antennal segment number. These differences can reflect selection for specialized biological roles, many of which have not been documented for the majority of bee and wasp species. The excess power index (EPI) is an estimate of insect flight performance that is inferred by the combination of several morphological characteristics. We compared the female and male EPIs in four species of native bees: Agapostemon virescens Fabricius, Andrena carlini Cockerell, Melissodes bimaculata Lepeletier and Xylocopa virginica L.. While females of each species had a significantly larger whole body mass, males had a significantly larger EPI. A larger body mass for females is associated with egg laying abilities and foraging behavior. Male fitness may be dependent on EPI; males that have greater flight capacity can travel further or remain in flight for longer time periods in search of mates.

Small carpenter bees of the genus Ceratina are widespread, but little-studied as pollinators despite their presence in various pollinator assemblages. This study documents the importance of Ceratina ridleyi as a pollinator of the small-flowered Malaysian ginger Globba leucantha var. bicolor. Species of Zingiberaceae are defined by peculiar floral morphologies (e.g staminodes and a single functional anther) but are rarely studied for their insect pollinators. Surprisingly, C. ridleyi was revealed as the single pollinator of Globba leucantha’s showy flowers even though the presence of Apis sp., Trigona sp., and Amegilla sp. were observed in the study site. This small carpenter bee collects both pollen and nectar from the ginger flower. Pollen grains were observed attached to its scopal hairs and hairs on the ventral thorax and ventral abdomen. The bee contacts the flower’s sole stigma only during foraging for pollen, where the stigma contacts pollen accumulated on hairs of the bee’s ventral thorax and ventral abdomen. This study represents the first pollination report of a Ceratina pollinating a species of Zingiberaceae, and only the second report of any Ceratina pollinating a flower with complex morphology.

Ptilothrix Cresson is a genus of New World bees with an amphitropical distribution. Like other genera in the tribe Emphorini, Ptilothrix have narrow pollen preferences. These solitary ground-nesting bees exhibit a remarkable nesting behavior in which females carry water from ponds to facilitate the excavation of the hard soil where they nest. With 16 described species, there are few taxonomic studies and, before this work, a lack of taxonomic treatments for the species in North America. Thus, in this study we revised and recognized four species for the region: Ptilothrix bombiformis Cresson, Ptilothrix sumichrasti Cresson, Ptilothrix chiricahua Florez-Gomez & Danforth, sp. nov. and Ptilothrix zacateca Florez-Gomez & Danforth, sp. nov. We describe and illustrate males and females of the two new species. We also present diagnoses for the four species, a key to identify them, and a map of their geographic distributions.

Pollen is an important source of nutrition for bumblebees to survive, reproduce, and raise their offspring. To explore the nutritional requirements for the egg laying and hatching of queenright Bombus breviceps colonies, camellia pollen, oilseed rape pollen, apricot pollen, and mixtures of two or three types of pollen in equal proportions were used to feed the queens in this study. The results showed that the camellia pollen with a higher essential amino acid content was superior to the pollen with a lower essential amino acid content in the initial egg-laying time (p < 0.05), egg number (p < 0.05), larval ejection (p < 0.01), time of first worker emergence (p < 0.05), and the average weight of workers in the first batch (p < 0.01). It took less time for colonies under the camellia pollen and camellia–oilseed rape–apricot pollen mix treatments, both with a higher crude protein content, to reach ten workers in the colony (p < 0.01). On the contrary, the queens fed apricot pollen never laid an egg, and larvae fed oilseed rape pollen were all ejected—both pollens with a lower essential amino acid content. The results emphasize that the diet should be rationally allocated to meet the nutritional needs of local bumblebees at various stages when guiding them to lay eggs, hatch, and develop a colony.

One of the most important pollinator taxa is Bombus (Hymenoptera, Apidae), the genus of bumble bees, since they are important, often specialized, pollinators of many plants. As a result of climate change, warming winters and changes in landscape structure, the distribution and frequency of Bombus species is constantly changing. To develop appropriate protection strategies, it is essential to monitor them and update the occurrence and threat status of the species. The last review of the distribution of Bombus species in Hungary was completed 20 years ago. Here we present updated distribution maps based on published data from the last 20 years together with unpublished data collected in 2018–2021. Based on the new data, we examine changes in the last two decades. In the case of 9 species further studies should be carried out to confirm the presence of stable populations, while 3 species are recommended for protection by law in Hungary. Seven species showed increasing frequency, B. argillaceus and B. haematurus.

Arrhenotoky is the typical mode of reproduction in Hymenoptera. Diploid females develop from fertilized eggs, whereas haploid males originate from unfertilized eggs. However, some taxa of Hymenoptera have evolved thelytoky, in which diploid females originate parthenogenetically from unfertilized diploid eggs. In contrast to some other hymenopteran lineages, like ants and parasitic wasps, thelytoky is generally very rare in bees. Here, we evaluated the frequency of thelytoky in the small carpenter bee Ceratina dallatoreana, which was previously assumed to be thelytokous. By comparing genotypes of microsatellite loci between mothers and their offspring, we found that all female offspring were genetically identical to their mothers. We conclude that parthenogenesis is the prevailing and perhaps obligate mode of reproduction in C. dallatoreana. We also classify the cytological mode of this parthenogenesis as apomixis, or automictic parthenogenesis with central fusion and extremely reduced or non-existing recombination, because offspring showed no decrease of heterozygosity. Because sociality is influenced by relatedness and Ceratina are ancestrally facultatively social, the high relatedness afforded by parthenogenesis should associate with social living in the nest. In accordance with previous work, however, we found no social nests of C. dallatoreana.

Crop protection substances are continuously developed to prevent the decimation of non-target insect populations through insecticide use. The bait formulation Acttra SWD was created to attract the adult spotted-wing drosophila, a generalist pest of berries, and when mixed with insecticide would cause a reduction in the volume of insecticide applied, thus avoiding a complete coverage of crops and resulting in economic and ecological benefits to society. However, Acttra SWD has some compounds, including sugars and fruit odors, that might attract non-target fauna, especially insect pollinators. Therefore this study aimed (1) to investigate if Acttra SWD mixed with the recommended pesticide, i.e. spinosad (Entrust), is attractive to the honey bee, which is extensively used for berry pollination and (2) to evaluate the insecticidal activity of Acttra/Entrust in oral and contact tests on the same species. In all replicates, most foragers rejected feeders that offered Acttra/Entrust, and some switched to Acttra/Entrust-free feeders. Accordingly, mortality caused by this mixture in oral tests was low and did not differ from control, since the majority of bees did not consume the Acttra/Entrust treatment. However, mortality caused by this mixture was higher than in control groups in topical tests. Our results indicate that honey bees will not be attracted to and poisoned by crops sprayed with Acttra/Entrust, but contact with the bait would result in lethal or sub-lethal effects.

In this paper, an update of the species of the genus Eucera Scopoli, 1770, subgenus Tetralonia Spinola, 1838 from Sardinia is reported, based on data collection as well as on recent survey carried out at Gennargentu Massif. Seven species are recorded, four of which are newly added: Eucera fulvescens (Giraud, 1863), E. gennargentuisp. nov. Nobile, Catania & Bella, E. julliani (Pérez, 1879), and E. nana (Morawitz, 1873). The new species, Eucera (Tetralonia) gennargentui Nobile, Catania & Bella is described from the high altitude of Gennargentu Massif. Details on distributions, host plants, and other biological aspects are given for each species treated. The taxonomic comparison of the taxa belonging to the subgenus Tetralonia from Sardinia, including E. gennargentuisp. nov., are discussed taking into account both morphological and COI barcode sequences. An identification key to Eucera (Tetralonia) species from Sardinia is also provided.

Several bumble bee species (Bombus Latreille) are declining and efforts to conserve populations will be strengthened by an improved knowledge of their geographic distribution. Knowledge gaps exist, however, especially in central portions of North America. Here we report 29 species of bumble bees from South Dakota in the north-central USA, based on 130 years of records from 1891 to 2021. Specimens or observations were available for >90% of the 66 counties, though they were not distributed evenly as most records came from Pennington, Lawrence, Custer, Brookings, and Day Counties. The five most commonly collected or reported bumble bee species were B. griseocollis (54 counties), B. pensylvanicus (41 counties), B. fervidus (39 counties), B. huntii (27 counties), and B. bimaculatus (25 counties). Twenty species were recorded from 10 or fewer counties. Despite differences in occurrence, 66% of the Bombus species in South Dakota were collected or observed since 2020, including six of the nine species of conservation concern (B. fraternus, B. pensylvanicus, B. fervidus, B. occidentalis, B. terricola, and B. morrisoni). However, the critically endangered B. affinis, B. variabilis, and B. suckleyi have not been collected or observed for over 50 years. While this checklist is the first for South Dakota bumble bees in nearly 100 years, data are still lacking as ~55% of counties had fewer than five species reported. We suggest future efforts should focus on these under-sampled areas to fill in baseline knowledge of the wild bee fauna towards completing a more holistic view of bumble bee distributions across the Great Plains.

Extreme weather events, like high temperatures and droughts, are predicted to become common with climate change, and may negatively impact plant growth. How honey bees (Apis mellifera L. [Hymenoptera: Apidae]) will respond to this challenge is unclear, especially when collecting pollen, their primary source of protein, lipids, and micro-nutrients. We explored this response with a data set from multiple research projects that measured pollen collected by honey bees during 2015–2017 in which above-average temperatures and a drought occurred in 2017. We summarized the abundance and diversity of pollen collected from July to September in replicated apiaries kept at commercial soybean and corn farms in Iowa, in the Midwestern USA. The most commonly collected pollen was from clover (Trifolium spp. [Fabales: Fabaceae]), which dramatically declined in absolute and relative abundance in July 2017 during a period of high temperatures and drought. Due to an apparent lack of clover, honey bees switched to the more drought-tolerant native species (e.g., Chamaecrista fasciculata [Michx.] Greene [Fabales: Fabaceae], Dalea purpurea Vent. [Fabales: Fabaceae], Solidago spp. [Asterales: Asteraceae]), and several species of Asteraceae. This was especially noticeable in August 2017 when C. fasciculata dominated (87%) and clover disappeared from bee-collected pollen. We discuss the potential implications of climate-induced forage dearth on honey bee nutritional health. We also compare these results to a growing body of literature on the use of native, perennial flowering plants found in Midwestern prairies for the conservation of beneficial insects. We discuss the potential for drought resistant-native plants to potentially promote resilience to climate change for the non-native, managed honey bee colonies in the United States.

Bee surveys bring valuable information regarding species distribution, phenology, and their interactions with host plants, and thus are important to bee conservation, especially in the present scenario of drastic declines reported worldwide. The Brazilian bee fauna has been surveyed intensively since the late 1960s, but the state-of-the-art of this research topic has not been explored in detail. Our main goal is to analyze the scientific literature through a systematic review of Brazilian bee surveys, describing (i) spatial sampling gaps; (ii) preferred sampling frequency and methods; (iii) species identification and vouchering practices; (iv) gender participation; and (v) how the studies are distributed among scientific journals. Our review includes 213 published studies, of which half targeted the entire bee fauna (Apoidea: Apidae sensu lato) while the other half targeted the orchid bees (Euglossini). Sampling sites are predominant in eastern Brazil, particularly within the Atlantic Forest. Hand netting bees for 1 year long was the most frequent sampling protocol to capture bees. Taxonomic identification and voucher deposition practices were mentioned in most of the papers. Men and women published almost the same number of papers, but women were less frequent as lead or senior authors and appeared less as prolific researchers. Most papers were published in a few Brazilian journals. We highlight that surveys in understudied areas are needed, especially in Amazon. Monitoring bees in previously surveyed locations is also encouraged to investigate temporal changes in bee assemblages, such as population declines, impacts of land-use changes, and effects of climate change.

Stingless bees (Meliponini) form a large monophyletic group with a pantropical distribution. Southern China is on the northern border of this distribution in Asia, and previous studies have recorded a single species in Taiwan and twelve species in Yunnan. In this study, by extensive sampling from both natural nests and the nests of bee keepers in Yunnan, we identified seven stingless bee species from four genera. Species with distinctive characters that were recorded in Xishuangbanna previously but not found during this study may be rare in this region, including Homotrigona lutea and Geniotrigona thoracica. A new key, information on nesting biology, and a snapshot of the current status of meliponiculture in Yunnan are provided. Morphological characters of males of Tetragonula laeviceps, Tetragonilla collina, and Lisotrigona carpenteri are shown, including their genitalia characters. Results of multivariate morphometrics based on twelve characters support the taxonomic classification. For further studies, wider sampling, including tropical and subtropical regions of Fujian, Guangxi, Guangdong, Yunnan, Tibet, Hainan, and Taiwan, is needed to assess the full diversity of Chinese stingless bees.

Mating is an important process in bumblebees that could affect queen diapause survival and offspring reproduction. Both queens and males could influence mating failure. Here, we used the indigenous bumblebee Bombus lantschouensis to evaluate the mating interactions of males and gynes. The effects of kin recognition and males and gynes from multiple colonies on mating latency, mating duration, and the mating success rate were investigated. The results showed that gynes mated with related males had a longer mating latency than those mated with unrelated males (42.88 ± 3.8 min and 24.15 ± 2.5 min, respectively, P 0.05). Interestingly, the occurrence of males from multiple sources significantly increased the mating success rate (one colony 39.1 ± 4.2% to four colonies 60.05 ± 5.7%, P 0.05). Mating latency was significantly more influenced by males and gynes from multiple colonies than by kin relationship, male number, and gyne number (P

As part of a quantitative survey of Maine’s bumble bee fauna (Butler et al. 2021), we compared and contrasted genetic diversity, parasite and pathogen burdens, and pesticide exposure of the relatively common Bombus ternarius Say, 1937 and the spatially rare Bombus terricola Kirby, 1837. We recorded 11 Bombus species at 40 survey sites across three Maine ecoregions, and B. ternarius was the most common species, while B. terricola was spatially rare. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling indicated that B. terricola was associated with higher elevation sites in Maine, while B. ternarius was more broadly distributed in the state. Pollinator networks constructed for each bee indicated B. ternarius foraged on more plant species than B. terricola, but that there was considerable overlap (73%) in plant species visited. Genetic diversity was greater in the spatially restricted B. terricola, whereas the widely distributed B. ternarius was characterized by greater genetic differentiation among regions. Bombus terricola had higher molecular marker levels of the microsporidian fungi Nosema spp. and the trypanosome Crithidia spp., and both species had high levels of Trypanosoma spp. exposure. No Western Honey Bee (Apis mellifera, Linnaeus, 1758) viruses were detected in either species. Pesticides were not detected in pollen samples collected from workers of either species, and B. ternarius worker tissue samples exhibited only trace levels of diflubenzuron.

Beekeeping with stingless bees (Apidae: Meliponini), an ancient activity in Mesoamerica, is still practiced and considered culturally important in many areas. It is part of a rich legacy of biocult...

Epeolus is one of the more species-rich genera of cuckoo bees globally. Seventeen species are known from Europe, and 23 species have been recorded from various countries in the Middle East and North Africa. Epeolus iranicussp. nov. and E. priesnerisp. nov. are newly described in this study, and E. seraxensis Radoszkowski, 1893, stat. nov., previously a subspecies of E. transitorius Eversmann, 1852, is regarded as a valid species and a lectotype is designated. The first records of E. ibericus and E. intermedius from North Africa are given, and the distribution of E. fallax in North Africa is confirmed. This study compiles known distributional records of the species of this genus from the studied region and provides an overview of the known species richness in the studied countries. Based on available records, Turkey (14 species), Morocco (11) and Iran (9) host the highest numbers of species of Epeolus, whereas in four countries only a single species has been recorded, and the presence of this genus in seven countries has yet to be confirmed.

Among Korean bumblebees, Bombus ignitus and B. ardens are relatively abundant and important for pollination of wildflowers and agricultural crops. Although the males are easily distinguishable phenotypically, the female castes are difficult to identify from each other. Here we evaluated the value of some morphometric characters in species identification. Also, we developed a polymerase chain reaction followed by restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) to discriminate these similar species. In spite of statistically significant differences of some morphological characters between two species, overlapping quantitative traits hindered accurate identification of the species. However, using 435 bp of COI gene and AluI, BspHI and Earl restriction enzymes allowed molecular identifications of these two species with unique profiles from the digestion by these restriction enzymes. This method can also be applied for older specimens with some morphological characters damaged. We also developed species-specific primers for fast and cost-effective identification of these species.

Males of euglossine bees, also known as orchid bees, are attracted to aromatic compounds and this feature has been exploited to collect them. Here we sampled orchid bee males using a rapid passive method in a Neotropical savanna ecosystem in Rio Preto State Park (PERP), southeastern Brazil. The sampling protocol consisted of 5-day surveys using scent traps at the beginning and end of the rainy seasons. PERP is inserted in a Brazilian savanna characterized by a mosaic of vegetation types, and elevational gradients. We also analyzed whether the habitat complexity and elevational gradients influence the richness and abundance of these bees. We collected a total of 996 individuals belonging to 14 species and four genera (Eufriesea Cockerell 1908, Euglossa Latreille 1802, Eulaema Lepeletier 1841, and Exaerete Hoffmannsegg 1817). Comparing our results with previous sampling protocols at PERP, higher abundance and richness were observed using traps than insect nets to survey these bees. In addition, the orchid bee fauna in PERP was successfully assessed by our rapid passive protocol, showing that this protocol seems to be useful for collecting orchid bees in open vegetation environments. We observed that the abundance of bees was lower at higher elevations, and both abundance and richness increased in more complex habitat. This may be due to the characteristics of Brazilian savannas where the lower elevations have higher habitat complexity, with more places for nest construction and resources for feeding and nesting.

The genus Scaura Schwarz is characterized by having specimens with metabasitarsus as inflated as the metatibia and malar space shorter than the diameter of the flagellum. Some of its species need b...

The foraging hive activity of stingless bee Tetragonula travancorica Shanas and Faseeh was studied from November 2018 to August 2019. The activity varied between the seasons, weather conditions and time hours of study. The outgoing and incoming pollen foragers exhibited two peaks in activity, from 0800-1200 h (first) and during 1500-1600 h (second). The activity of incoming non-pollen foragers displayed only one distinct peak between 1000-1200 h except during the southwest monsoon period. The greatest activity was recorded during the dry season (January-May), followed by the south-west monsoon (June-August) and north-east monsoon (November- December) seasons. Maximum overall activity was recorded during hotter months February, March and April while the lowest was observed in January and December. At any season or time, the number of incoming foragers without pollen was greater than pollen foragers.

Morphometry of 53 stingless bees of the genus Lisotrigona collected from seven places in India by using 36 morphological parameters was studied. The data set also included morphometry data of primary types of L. cacciae, L. chandrai and L. revanai for comparison and was subjected to Factor and Canonical Discriminant analysis. All the bees collected from five places formed two distinct clusters in the Factor analysis and five clusters in Canonical Discriminant analysis. In both the methods of analysis primary types of L. cacciae, L. chandrai and L. revanai were placed well separated from each other as well as from other bees. The bees from seven places also differed from the three known species in morphometry and ratios of length and width of parts of the body. Based on these results it is concluded that Indian stingless bees of the genus Lisotrigona consists of more than one species besides L. cacciae. The action of synonymizing L. mohandasi, L. chandrai and L. revanai with L. cacciae appears arbitrary; these three species should be considered valid until supported by male genital morphology or molecular characters.

The western honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) is one of the most important insect species that, unfortunately, is being confronted with multiple biological stressors that threaten their existence. Varro...

Studies were conducted to explore the extent of conopid fly infestation in carpenter bee rearing. Conopid flies are larval parasitoids of carpenter bees. The samples were collected from fields, nat...

In June of 2013 an application of dinotefuran on an ornamental planting of European linden trees (Tilia cordata Mill. [Malvales: Malvalceae]) in a shopping mall parking lot in Wilsonville, Oregon provoked the largest documented pesticide kill of bumble bees in North America. Based on geographic information systems and population genetic analysis, we estimate that between 45,830 and 107,470 bumble bees originating from between 289 and 596 colonies were killed during this event. Dinotefuran is a neonicotinoid that is highly effective in exterminating and/or harming target pest insects and non-target beneficial insects. Analysis to detect the concentration of pesticides in flowers that received foliar application revealed that the minimum reported dinotefuran concentration of a sampled T. cordata flower was 7.4 ppm, or in excess of 737% above the LC50 of the beneficial pollinator, the honey bee (Apis mellifera Linnaeus, 1758 [Hymenoptera: Apidae]). Furthermore, sampled Vosnesensky bumble bees (Bombus vosnesenskii Radoskowski, 1862 [Hymenoptera: Apidae]) were found to have an average dinotefuran concentration of 0.92 ppm at the time of death, which exceeds the maximum LC50 of A. mellifera (0.884 ppm). Our study underscores the lethal impact of the neonicotinoid pesticide dinotefuran on pollinating insect populations in a suburban environment. To our knowledge, the documentation and impact of pesticide kills on wild populations of beneficial insects has not been widely reported in the scientific literature. It is likely that the vast majority of mass pesticide kills of beneficial insects across other environments go unnoticed and unreported.

Geopropolis has medicinal potential and has been studied due to its complex chemical composition, with more than 300 compounds already identified. However, its physical components are still little ...

Pollinator-dependent crops rely on the activity of managed and wild pollinators. While farm management and surrounding landscape can influence wild pollinator contributions, managed pollinator contributions may be primarily driven by their stocking densities, though this is not well studied across crops. We selected 20 southern highbush blueberry farms along two independent gradients of honey bee Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae) stocking density (~1–11 hives/acre) and bumble bee Bombus impatiens Cresson (Hymenoptera: Apidae) stocking density (0 - 3 colonies/acre) ensuring that stocking densities were not correlated with farm or landscape attributes. Across farms, we observed managed and wild bee visitation rates, and measured yield estimates. Farms with greater bumble bee stocking densities had higher bumble bee visitation rates and yield estimates, but farms with higher honey bee stocking densities only received higher honey bee visitation rates at the end of bloom and did not have higher yield estimates. The main wild pollinator, the southeastern blueberry bee Habropoda laboriosa (Fabricius) (Hymenoptera: Apidae), showed higher visitation rates on organic farms and in late bloom. In general, higher visitation rates by honey bees, bumble bees, and H. laboriosa were correlated with higher yields. Our results suggest that yields are limited by bee visitation rates, and that within the stocking density ranges studied, increasing managed bumble bees, but not honey bees, increases their visitation rates. While H. laboriosa had the greatest effect on yield estimates, its activity appears to be limited by both a phenological mismatch with crop bloom and farm management.

In many organisms, habitat affects ecological and genetic diversity and, for certain species, it is expected that a large population should have higher genetic diversity than a smaller population. We analysed the genetics of males of the orchid bee, Eulaema nigrita (Hymenoptera: Apidae) and examined the links between local abundance and habitat with genetic diversity. We also investigated the impact of landscape features on genetic population structure, through microsatellite and mitochondrial DNA analysis, among populations found across 700 km of Brazilian Atlantic forest fragments. We found that genetic variation was not a function of local abundance, but it correlated significantly with habitat. There was significant but low genetic differentiation among populations. We found a single mitochondrial DNA haplotype in all sequenced specimens, which may be widespread throughout the Atlantic forest. Our results reinforce the idea that orchid bees can fly long distances. High-dispersal capacity, together with insufficient time in eventual isolation, can directly contribute to the high degree of similarity among populations for this species, despite their wide geographical distribution.

The increasing demand for insect-pollinated crops highlights the need for crop pollination paradigms that include all available pollinators. In North America, Cucurbita crops (pumpkin, squash) depend on both wild (solitary and Bombus spp.: Hymenoptera: Apidae) and managed honey bees (Apis mellifera L. 1758: Hymenoptera: Apidae) for pollination. Temporal and spatial differences in abundance may determine which bee taxa are the most important pollinators of Cucurbita crops. We surveyed bees visiting Cucurbita crop flowers on 19 farms over four years (2015–2018) during the crop flowering period (July 1–August 30 from 06:00–12:00). All the farms surveyed had hoary squash bees (Eucera pruinosa (Say, 1867), and most also had some combination of honey bees, bumble bees (Bombus spp.), or other wild bees present on their Cucurbita crop flowers. All four bee taxa were present on about two-thirds of farms. Spatially and temporally, wild bees were more abundant on Cucurbita crop flowers than managed honey bees. Hoary squash bees were the most abundant wild bees, maintaining their abundance relative to other wild bee taxa year-over-year. Male hoary squash bees were both more frequently and consistently seen visiting crop flowers than females in all years. Peak activity of hoary squash bees and bumble bees coincided with the daily crop pollination window, whereas peak activity of honey bees and other wild bees occurred after that window. In addition to elucidating the ecological interactions among wild and managed pollinators on Cucurbita crops, our work provides a novel practical way to evaluate pollinator abundance using a crop-centered benchmark framework.

Bumblebees are important pollinators for many wild plants and crops. To explore gene expression characteristics in depth, stable reference genes will be essential across different developmental stages. In this context, we evaluated the stability of eight common reference genes at ten developmental stages in the bumblebee Bombus terrestris (B. terrestris) with four algorithms and two rank approaches. The results showed that all the primers for the reference genes exhibited high specificity, linear correlation (R2-value 0.9917~0.9978) and a good PCR amplification efficiency (E-value 95.4~108.6%). The combined use of RPL13 and RP49 was suggested to be the most suitable reference genes. Our candidate reference genes will help to improve the precision of the detection of gene expression at different developmental stages of bumblebee species.

Trigona spinipes is a generalist species of stingless bee that is dominant in many pollination networks and has a wide distribution in the tropics and subtropics of the Neotropics. This eusocial sp...

In the Cerrado, the Brazilian savanna, studies on the relationship of agroforestry systems (AFS) with the edaphic and biotic factors are still incipient. In this study, the community of bees in AFS...

Bumble bees, Bombus spp. (Apidae), are important native pollinators; however, populations of some species are declining in North America and agricultural chemicals are a potential cause. Fungicides are generally not highly toxic to bees, but little is known about sublethal or synergistic effects. This study evaluates bumble bee exposure to fungicides by quantifying concentrations of boscalid and pyraclostrobin in nectar and pollen collected by colonies of Bombus huntii Greene, 1860 (Hunt bumble bee) deployed in a commercial cherry Prunus avium L. orchard in the spring of 2016. Seven colonies were placed adjacent to an orchard block that was sprayed with a fungicide mixture of boscalid and pyraclostrobin and a control group of seven colonies was placed next to an unsprayed block of orchard 400 m away from the treated block. Nectar and pollen were collected daily, beginning 1 d before spray application and continuing for a total of 12 d, and analyzed for both fungicides. Fungicide concentrations varied spatially by colony and temporally by day. The highest concentrations in nectar occurred 1 and 3 d after spraying: up to 440 ng/g boscalid and 240 ng/g pyraclostrobin. Six days after application, pollen from cherry flowers contained the highest concentrations of the fungicides: up to 60,500 ng/g boscalid and 32,000 ng/g pyraclostrobin. These data can help to determine field-level fungicide concentrations in nectar and pollen and direct future work on understanding the effects of these compounds, including their interactions with important bumble bee pathogenic and beneficial symbionts.

Bees of the Meliponini tribe are the most diverse group of social bees in the world and their need for trophic resources (pollen and nectar) makes them the main floral visitors and consequently the...

Among the antimicrobial peptides, abaecin is rich in proline content and plays a vital role in insect innate immune defense. Here, the full-length gene of abaecin from the bumblebee Bombus lantschouensis was cloned, and its expression profiles for different tissues, developmental stages and reproductive statuses were analyzed by RT-qPCR. Meanwhile, the responses of abaecin to a bacterium (Escherichia coli) and a fungus (Beauveria bassiana) were tested. The full length of abaecin cDNA was 470 bp, and the open reading frame (ORF) was 258 bp, encoding a polypeptide of 85 amino acids. The abaecin gene consists of three exons and two introns. Phylogenetic analysis showed that Bombus ignitus was the closest species to B. lantschouensis base on putative Abaecin protein sequence. Expression analysis showed that abaecin was expressed broadly in different tissues, with the highest expression in fat bodies and extremely low expression in antennae. Regarding developmental stage, low expression of abacein was detected in eggs and larvae, and high expression was detected in pupal stages. The highest expression was observed at the Pw pupal stage (pupae with an unpigmented body cuticle and white eyes), and the expression then decreased from the Pp (pupae with pink eyes) to the Pdd (dark-eye pupae with a dark-pigmented cuticle) stages. In addition, the expression of abaecin was higher in egg-laying than in non-egg-laying female bumblebees. Both E. coli and B. bassiana infections induced the expression of abaecin. Our results indicated that the abaecin gene plays important roles in the development, reproduction and immune responses of bumblebees. During the artificial rearing of bumblebees, a good environment should be created to avoid infection with bacteria or fungi.

Bumblebees (Bombus spp.) are important pollinators of agricultural crops and wild plants, especially tomato and sweet pepper species requiring large-sized and buzzing pollinators. The endoparasitic mite Locustacarus buchneri Stammer 1951 (Acari; Podapolipidae) was identified from commercial populations of the introduced European bumblebee Bombus terrestris. We report the genus and species of this mite for the first time in Koran fauna. Identification was based on morphological and molecular characteristics. Morphological details were illustrated and compared with those to the original description. We analyzed partial cytochrome oxidase I gene to understand the phylogenetic relationship and possible source of invention. The maximum likelihood tree and haplotype network revealed that the Korean population is closely related to Japanese population than European population. The ecological significance of this finding and possible consequences of the invasive species to the native species are discussed.

Phenotypic variation in both morphology and symmetry of individuals may appear due to environmental stress caused by land-use changes. Here, we evaluated fluctuating asymmetry (FA) and wing size variations of two orchid bee species, Euglossa ignita Smith, 1874 and Eulaema meriana (Olivier, 1789), comparing 11 wing traits. We sampled the individuals from legal reserves (LR), areas of permanent protection (APP), and oil palm plantations (PALM) in Eastern Amazonia. We calculated FA as the absolute difference between the wing measurements made in the right and left wings of specimens and both species' wing size. We corrected each FA measure for possible directional asymmetry bias by subtracting the mean value of the mean FA signed difference to each FA measure. We compared FA and the size of each wing trait of each species between land-use types using one-way ANOVAs. We found no effect of FA between land-use types, but we observed individuals of both species from PALM areas having larger wings than those from LR areas. Our results demonstrate that there seems to be a pressure exerted by land-use change associated with palm oil cultivation favoring individuals with larger wings, although both species had shown substantial permeability of oil palm.

Coordination in honeybees is heavily dependent on their chemoreception system, in which odorant-binding proteins are very important. A previous study based on the antennal transcriptome of Apis cerana cerana revealed that OBP15 was significantly up-regulated at 25-day-old. To further unravel and clarify its functional role, we first cloned and characterized AcerOBP15 from the antennae of worker bees. Sequence and phylogenetic analysis showed that AcerOBP15 belongs to the Minus-C OBPs family. AcerOBP15 was primarily expressed in forager antennae and legs. A fluorescent binding assay showed that AcerOBP15 had strong binding affinity to most floral volatiles, a restricted number of bee pheromone components and non-volatile compounds, among which the highest is myrcene. Based on RNAi and EAG assays, AcerOBP15 may be required for myrcene recognition. Taken together, we suggest that AcerOBP15 plays a dual role in olfactory and gustatory reception when foraging. Our study lays a theoretical foundation for further studies regarding the mechanism of chemoreception in A. cerana cerana.

The microsporidian Nosema ceranae commonly infects the Asian honey bee Apis cerana Fabricius (Hymenoptera: Apidae) and poses a high potential risk to co-occurring A. mellifera. Here, we demonstrated the effect of N. ceranae isolated from a wild colony of A. cerana japonica in Tokyo on A. mellifera workers. Sequencing analyses of the Tokyo N. ceranae isolate using the SSU rRNA gene showed a high probability match to the European N. ceranae isolates. Experimental exposure of A. mellifera workers with 102–104 spores of N. ceranae resulted in 100% infection but did not significantly affect mortality, despite spore load doubling over the duration of infection. Nosema ceranae populations are geographically mixed, likely by the worldwide commercial trade of honeybees for commercial pollination. More than 100 years of A. mellifera beekeeping in Japan with repeated importations may promote N. ceranae transmission among A. mellifera and A. cerana japonica populations. Our results did not detect the lethal effects of the N. ceranae infection on A. mellifera workers. However, N. ceranae infections sometimes cause the sublethal effects, such as digestive disruption and nutritional stress, potentially resulting in reduced colony-level productivity. Therefore, we need to monitor the N. ceranae infections on A. mellifera.

Large-scale use of systemic pesticides has been considered a potential factor for pollinator population decline. Phytochemicals, e.g., quercetin, have been demonstrated to increase the pesticide tolerance of Apis mellifera Linnaeus (Hymenoptera: Apidae), which is helpful to develop strategies to reduce the pesticides hazards to pollinators. In this study, we hypothesized phytochemicals could reduce the detrimental effects of imidacloprid on Apis cerana Fabricius. The lethal and sublethal effects of imidacloprid on A. cerana workers were investigated. The results showed that A. cerana workers chronically exposed to 100 μg/liter imidacloprid had a significantly shorter longevity by 10.81 d compared with control. Acute exposure to imidacloprid at 100 μg/liter impaired the sucrose responsiveness and memory retention of the workers, and 20 μg/liter reduced the sucrose responsiveness. The treatment with 37.8 mg/liter quercetin for 24 h could increase the longevity of A. cerana workers when chronically exposed to 100 μg/liter imidacloprid, and 75.6 mg/liter quercetin feeding treatment alleviated the impairment of sucrose responsiveness. However, workers treated with 151.2 mg/liter and 75.6 mg/liter quercetin had a significantly shorter longevity compared to that of bees chronically exposed to 100 μg/liter imidacloprid without quercetin treatment. Our results suggested that quercetin treatment could produce a biphasic influence on the lethal effects of imidacloprid on A. cerana. Quercetin at 37.8 mg/liter and 75.6 mg/liter in the diet before pesticide exposure was able to reduce the lethal and sublethal effects of imidacloprid, respectively, providing potential strategies to reduce the pesticides hazards to native honey bees (A. cerana).

Studies have demonstrated that the addition of preservatives mixed with food attractants have provided a more expressive attractiveness for fruit fly adults. The objective of the study was to evaluate the capture of Anastrepha fraterculus (Wiedemann, 1830) adults when the addition of borax and/or benzalkonium chloride preservative in BioAnastrephaTM and Isca Samarita TradicionalTM food attractants compared to CeraTrapTM (control, no preservatives added) in peach orchards. As well as, verifying the effect over non-target insects. BioAnastrephaTM, Isca Samarita TradicionalTM and CeraTrapTM attractants enabled the capture of A. fraterculus adults when used by themselves in McPhail traps. However, by adding borax and benzalkonium chloride, BioAnastrephaTM and Isca Samarita TradicionalTM food attractants significantly increased the number of adults captured. Additionally, the number of A. fraterculus adults captured by BioAnastrephaTM attractant + borax was similar to CeraTrapTM attractant over time. Regarding non-target insects, the highest percentages of subjects captured belong to the Coleoptera (4.4 to 11%) and Diptera orders (24.1 to 34.6%) (Drosophilidae family). Nevertheless, insects from the Hymenoptera order [(Formicidae (0.14 to 0.96%), Vespidae (0.02 to 0.3%), and Apidae (0.04 to 0.9%)] families. Neuroptera (0.02 to 0.98%) and Lepidoptera (0.09 to 0.7%) were also captured, although those amounted to less than 1% of the A. fraterculus total. Adding borax and benzalkonium chloride to BioAnastrephaTM and Isca Samarita TradicionalTM food attractants potentialize the effect of A. fraterculus capture in monitoring traps. Also, adding preservatives made attractants more durable, consequently, the need to replace attractants was not as frequent.

This paper reports for the first time the presence of Aethina tumida Murray, 1867 in hives of Apis mellifera Linnaeus, 1758, established in the locality of Pucnachen Municipality of Calkini the Sta...

Fragmentation of the Atlantic Forest negatively impacts the population dynamics of native pollinators in these environments, especially that of stingless bees. Meanwhile, stingless bees contribute ...

A study related to the physicochemical composition and profile of phenolic compounds and flavonoids was performed on honey of Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae) obtained in coffee-growing area...