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The nesting behaviour of 21 species of solitary wasps and bees, belonging to the families Sphecidae, Crabronidae, Pompilidae, Vespidae, Megachilidae and Colletidae using trap nests is presented. I provide information on nest architecture and biologies of the described species, including, brood development, mortality, parasites and associates.
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Diurnal and crepuscular bees are efficient pollinators that play an important role in maintaining plant and animal communities. In the last decades the number of studies that aim to know the biology of these animals has been increasing, mainly due to the fact that research indicates that the populations of bees are in decline. To carry out these wo...
Citations
... Li et al. (2019) misidentified this species as Z. dolosus and mentioned it was common in Hong Kong. The nesting habit has been described in detail by Barthélémy (2012). This species is easily distinguished from Z. dolosus by many distinct morphological features, including the shorter and more swollen petiole, more smoothly curved profile of S2 and unmarked clypeus in male. ...
We review three leaf-cutter wasp species of the genus Zethus Fabricius, 1804 occurring in Hong Kong. Zethus malayanus Gusenleitner, 2010, syn. nov. is proposed as a junior synonym of Z. bakeri Giordani Soika, 1995; we clarify the status of Zethus dolosus Bingham, 1897 formerly reported from Hong Kong and add Z. angulatus Nguyen & Carpenter, 2016 as new to Hong Kong. We provide descriptions and high-resolution images for the three species, including male genitalia of Z. angulatus and Z. bakeri.
... Smith, 1870), S. (Hensenia) deforme (F. Smith, 1856), and Isodontia mexicana (de Saussure, 1867) (Schmid-Egger, 2005;Ćetković et al., 2011, 2012Mei et al., 2012;Schmid-Egger & Herb, 2018;Bitsch et al., 2020;Fateryga et al., 2020). ...
... Females of most species nest in above-ground preexisting cavities such as hollow stems, burrows of beetle larvae or carpenter bees in wood, burrows of other wasps and bees in vertical banks, stone crevices or even hollow leaves of an onion. Such nesting behavior favors the use of trap-nesting technology to attract nesting females and receiving a large amount of nests to study various aspects of the wasp life history (Piel, 1933;Tsuneki, 1963Tsuneki, , 1964Lin, 1966;Krombein, 1967;O'Neill & O'Neill, 2003, 2009O'Neill et al., 2007;Barthélémy, 2012;Barrett et al., 2021). The exception is I. simoni (du Buysson, 1898) nesting in pre-existing vertical burrows in horizontal ground; this species was never introduced to trap nests (Gess & Gess, 1982. ...
... Smith, 1856), the partitions between two subsequent cells can be sometimes absent (Tsuneki, 1963) while such species as I. auripes (Fernald, 1906) and I. harmandi (Pérez, 1905) even construct communal cells with up to 14 progeny individuals in a single chamber (Tsuneki, 1963;Krombein, 1967;Barrett et al., 2021). The prey of Isodontia wasps are orthopteran insects: usually tree crickets (Gryllidae: Oecanthinae) and katydids (Tettigoniidae) (Piel, 1933;Tsuneki, 1963Tsuneki, , 1964Lin, 1966;Krombein, 1967;Barthélémy, 2012;Ćetković et al., 2012;Gess & Gess, 1982. ...
Isodontia nigella (F. Smith, 1856) is native to the Eastern Palaearctic, Oriental region, and Australia. A sheaf of reed canes installed as a trap nest in the Crimea was occupied with 73 nests of this species in 2021. The nests contained one to eight cells separated by partitions made of packed fragments of grass stalks and blades; the closing plug was made of the same materials. In some cases, there was no visible partition between two subsequent cells. The prey consisted of three orthopteran species with the predomination of the tree cricket Oecanthus pellucens (Scopoli, 1763) amounted to 95.1% of the identified specimens; three to 15 victims were stored per cell. Sex ratio was strongly male-biased, about 1♀:4♂. The species had two generations per year. Prepupae of the second generation overwintered and imagines emerged in 2022: males on 12–19 June, females on 17 June–5 July. Melittobia acasta (Walker, 1839) and an unidentified bombyliid fly were recorded as parasitoids that damaged only three cells. The reproductive success of the wasp was 65.2%; most deaths of the progeny were for unknown causes. This is the first record of I. nigella in Europe, outside its native range. Isodontia nigella is the second invasive species of the genus in Europe after I. mexicana (de Saussure, 1867) and the fifth invasive species of the family Sphecidae in the Crimea.
... We used an ordinal regression model (ORM) to test the hypothesis that males emerge more often from more external cells and females from more internal ones, as often reported for hymenopterans (Barthélémy 2012). As the occupancy rate was higher for more internal cells (cells are built from the bottom of the nest towards its entrance), we used a negative log-log model since the lower-order Y classes were the most frequent. ...
This paper provides the first description of the nesting biology of Ancistrocerus flavomarginatus (Brèthes) (Hymenoptera, Vespidae, Eumeninae), the only species of the genus found in Brazil. Our trap-nest experiments were conducted in two Mixed Ombrophilous Forest fragments and two adjacent matrices in Guarapuava (Paraná state, Brazil) from August 2017 to July 2018. In each area, we set 192 trap nests divided into six groups of 32 units, totalling 768 trap nests. We obtained a total of 47 nests of A. flavomarginatus, the vast majority of them (43, 91.5%) founded in the forest fragments. Most nests were built in wooden traps with a bore diameter of either 5 or 7 mm (19 nests in each type, 80.8%). Nests comprised 1-12 subcylindrical brood cells arranged linearly and separated from one another by transverse partitions of soil mastic. Larvae consumed 6-10 lepidopteran caterpillars before spinning the cocoon. Ancistrocerus flavomarginatus produced up to 6 annual generations (multivoltinism) and its immature forms were parasitized by chrysidid and ichneumonid wasps. The calculated sex ratio (1.78:1) was statistically biased towards males, but since they (21.3 ± 2.0 mg) were significantly lighter than females (50.9 ± 4.0 mg), the resulting investment ratio (1.34:1) was female biased. Males emerged from more external cells and developed significantly faster (27.2 ± 0.46 days) than females (30.1 ± 0.66 days), hence a case of protandry. We demonstrated that A. flavomarginatus is largely dependent on the Atlantic Rainforest and thus that deforestation poses a critical threat to this important species.
... The nesting biology of T. petiolatum in its native area of distribution has been described by Barthélémy (2010Barthélémy ( , 2012, who provides information from Hong Kong and summarises previous studies (Nambu 1966(Nambu , 1967. Our results are highly coincidental with those of these studies (Table 1). ...
... Therefore, according to parental investment theory (Fisher 1958) the primary sex ratio of T. petiolatum populations should be slightly biased towards males. Differential mortality between males and females probably explains the strongly biased secondary sex ratios reported in Table 1 (male-biased in Nambu (1966Nambu ( , 1967, and female biased in Barthélémy (2012) and in our study). ...
... The high percent mortality, including high levels of parasitism by two native species, A. signata and M. acasta (36.8% and 46.1%, respectively), might suggest a low population growth. However, high mortality rates (up to 70%) are not uncommon in Trypoxylon (O'Neill 2001), including T. petiolatum (Barthélémy 2012). The rate of expansion of other solitary wasps and bees in Europe is highly-species dependent. ...
We report on the discovery of the spider-hunting wasp Trypoxylon petiolatum (Crabronidae) nesting in three localities in the Province of Girona (Catalonia, NE Spain) in 2019 and 2021. This species is native to eastern Asia and has not previously been reported from Europe. We provide a detailed description of the species, as well as information on its nest architecture, cocoon shape, the identity of the spiders captured to provision the nests, and mortality rates, including parasitism by a native cleptoparasitic fly (Amobia signata, Miltogramminae, Sarcophagidae) and a native parasitoid wasp (Melittobia acasta, Eulophidae).
... Each cell is mass provisioned with spiders and the female lays a single egg usually on the first prey put in the cell. Although Sceliphron constructs the nest in sheltered situations, their fresh mud nests are freely accessible not only to parasitoids but also to kleptoparasites (both modes of parasitism are included under the term "parasite" (Krombein 1967;Barthélémy 2012) and their abandoned nests are sufficiently solid to allow reuse by other wasps and bees (re-users or inquilines). Therefore, nest parasites of Sceliphron are reported innumerably (Freeman & Parnell 1973;Hunt 1993;Weaving 1995;Fernández-Triana et al. 2005;Gess & Gess 2014). ...
... The nesting biology of the Apodynerus species is poorly studied. For A. troglodytes, only a brief study on its nesting biology was to date reported by Barthélémy (2012) [the species name was determined by Li et al. (2019)]. The wasp used trap nests, 165-174 mm long and 4-5.5 mm in diameter of borings. ...
Four solitary wasps, Apodynerus troglodytes (Saussure, 1856), Antepipona biguttata (Fabricius, 1787), Euodynerus trilobus (Fabricius, 1787) (all Vespidae: Eumeninae), and Chalybion japonicum (Gribodo, 1882) (Sphecidae), and one solitary bee, Amegilla zonata (Linnaeus, 1758) (Apidae) using nests of the mud dauber wasp Sceliphron madraspatanum (Fabricius, 1781) in Vietnam are studied. Except for C. japonicum, the others are reported for the first time to use S. madraspatanum nests. Antepipona biguttata is considered both an invader and a re-user, and the other species are only re-users of the nests of the mud dauber wasp. While A. troglodytes utilizes old nest cells of S. madraspatanum and divides each cell into its two nest cells, the other two vespid species excavate their own nest burrows in S. madraspatanum nests and build their nest cells at the terminal of the burrows. Chalybion japonicum uses old intact nest cells of S. madraspatanum. Amegilla zonata digs its own nest, builds the cells in the nests of the mud dauber wasp, and uses them as nesting and overwintering sites. The life history and nest structure of the five species are presented.
... str.) quadrispinosus (de Saussure, 1855). Barthélémy (2012) received six one-celled nests of this wasp (reported as "Pareumenes sp.") from trap nests installed in Hong Kong and provided high-grade photos of the nest content. He found that each nest consisted of a single brood cell sealed with a mud partition, and that prior to mass-provisioning with unidentified caterpillars the female laid an egg, which was suspended by a thin silk thread at the inner end of the cell (Barthélémy, 2012;Li et al., 2019). ...
... Barthélémy (2012) received six one-celled nests of this wasp (reported as "Pareumenes sp.") from trap nests installed in Hong Kong and provided high-grade photos of the nest content. He found that each nest consisted of a single brood cell sealed with a mud partition, and that prior to mass-provisioning with unidentified caterpillars the female laid an egg, which was suspended by a thin silk thread at the inner end of the cell (Barthélémy, 2012;Li et al., 2019). Dang (2018) also reported P. quadrispinosus to nest in pre-existing holes of trap nests but without description of the nest structure or any other details. ...
... Our results are generally congruent with the observations on the nesting behavior of the genus Pareumenes previously reported by Jayakar and Spurway (1971) for P. brevirostratus and by Barthélémy (2012) for P. quadrispinosus. Both species nest in pre-existing cavities of trap nests and use mud to separate the nest hole into the cells by the transverse partitions. ...
Nests of Pareumenes quadrispinosus (de Saussure, 1855) were obtained at Me Linh Station for Biodiversity (323 nests) and Tam Dao Town (283 nests), Vinh Phuc Province, as well as at Phu Luong, Thai Nguyen Province (9 nests) and Kim Boi, Hoa Binh Province (62 nests). The wasps nested in segments of bamboo canes and reed stems, 5 to 18 mm in internal diameter. Each nest consisted of a linear series of one to four cells, separated by mud partitions. Brood cells were provisioned with caterpillars and eggs were attached to the ceiling of the cells by thin threads. The life history and sex ratio of this species nesting in trap nests in North Vietnam were recorded from mid-April to last October. The species is multivoltine, with likely up to four generations per year. It has two alternative life histories (diapause and direct development) and overlapping generations. The sex ratio is strongly female-biased. Only 46% of the provisioned cells were successful; the others were damaged by nine parasitoid species or died during development for unknown reasons.
... Megachile spp., Osmia spp.) are increasingly important managed pollinators, in part due to their willingness to nest in provided substrates (i.e. nest boxes) (Maeta & Kitamura, 1964;Krombein, 1967;Bosch & Blas, 1994;Tylianakis et al., 2005;Westphal et al., 2008;Barthélémy, 2012;MacIvor et al., 2014;MacIvor, 2017). They have also been used as indicator species for assessing the impact of habitat management strategies (Klein et al., 2002;Kruess & Tscharntke, 2002;Correia Da Rocha-Filho et al., 2017) and how landscape composition affects local bee communities (Frankie et al., 1998;Steffan-Dewenter, 2002, 2003. ...
1 Wildflower plantings on farms have been shown to attract foraging wild bees, however, whether these added floral resources increase nesting densities of bees remains largely untested.
2 We placed nest boxes containing natural reeds at 20 fruit farms in Michigan. We then compared nesting densities between farms with and without wildflower plantings and analysed nest provisions to evaluate use of wildflower plantings for brood provisioning.
3 We found significantly greater nesting at farms with wildflower plantings, with only one out of 236 completed nests at a farm without a planting. The majority of nests were completed by Megachile pugnata, with a portion of nests completed by Osmia caerulescens.
4 We found that nesting bees collected pollen from only a subset of the available flowers in the wildflower plantings, with a strong preference for Centaurea maculosa, and Rudbeckia type pollens. While these species were found growing in the plantings, only Rudbeckia type species were seeded in the plantings.
5 This study provides evidence that wildflower plantings (though not only seeded species) are filling a critical resource gap for stem-nesting bees in agricultural landscapes and likely support local populations.
... The pattern observed for P. gibbus is less clear due to the recent collection of this species (since March 2019) and the relative low abundance recorded (three occurrences) (Fig. 2B) but is the likely result of interannual variations. Given the known development time of many species in the "Crabronidae" (sensu Pulawski 2020; Krombein 1967;Tsuneki 1970Tsuneki , 1973Barthélémy 2012), we can hypothesise that all Psenulus species in Hong Kong are at minimum bivoltine, some likely multivoltine with 3-4 generations per year. A study focused on Psenulus nesting habits would represent a valuable contribution to answer these questions regarding activity patterns and voltinism. ...
The wasp genus Psenulus is the most diverse genus of the family Psenidae in the superfamily Apoidea, with its diversity peaking in the Oriental realm. Six species of the genus are here recorded for the first time from the Hong Kong SAR. Three of these, Psenulus ephippius sp. nov., Psenulus gibbus sp. nov. and Psenulus pallens sp. nov. are described as new to science. An identification key, figures for all taxa recorded in Hong Kong and phenology of five of the six species are also provided.
... In natural habitats, these Hymenoptera rely mainly on trees for finding suitable places of nesting (Morato & Martins, 2006) and they are severely impacted by processes of deforestation (Rocha-Filho et al., 2020). Also, the stock of food and sheltered nests usually attract other organisms, such as ants, robbers of brood cells (known as cleptoparasites) and predators (Cobb et al., 2006;Barthélémy, 2012). ...
... Long-term studies assessing the fauna of Hymenoptera in the State addressed only Euglossini bees, and all of them were performed in natural or semi-natural areas (Tonhasca-Jr. et al., 2002;Ramalho et al., 2009;, 2012Aguiar et al., 2014). ...
... Additionally, ants and other animals were much more prevalent in the traps than the Hymenoptera aimed to survey, and even the inspections carried out biweekly were not enough for augmenting the trap-nest occupancy. Few studies report the occupancy of traps by undesirable nesters (Barthélémy, 2012), even considering that trap-nests are sufficient attractive for other animals, such as ants (Cobb et al., 2006), to subsidize studies with such organisms. ...
Urban areas, as cities, are frequently overlooked as refuges for the native fauna. However, these places may support several species and house relevant biodiversity contributing to important ecosystemic functions. Wasps and bees (Hymenoptera: Apocrita) are important faunistic elements acting as predators/parasitoids and pollinators, respectively. Therefore, they must be surveyed and inventoried for conservation purposes, especially in cities located in the Atlantic Forest domain, a ravaged Brazilian biome. Accordingly, this study presents a species list of trap-nesting bees and wasps that occurs at the Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro. The survey was conducted using the trap-nest method. Three types of trap-nests were offered totalizing 1,038 traps: rubber hose, bamboo cane and plastic straw. The plastic straw traps were the most effective followed by the bamboo cane ones at attracting nesting wasps and bees. Between April/2017 and February/2019, 12 foundress species built nests: Tetrapedia curvitarsis (Apidae) (33 nests), Hylaeus sp. (Colletidae) (6), Auplopus cf. rufipes (Pompilidae) (5), Trypoxylon sp. (Crabronidae) (4), Pachodynerus nasidens (Vespidae) (3), Auplopus cf. brasiliensis (Pompilidae), Megachile benigna and Megachile sp. (Megachilidae), Euglossa pleosticta, Euglossa sp., and Eufriesea sp. (Apidae) and Penepodium sp. (Sphecidae) all with one nest. Also, four natural enemies were recorded: Chaenotetrastichus neotropicalis (Eulophidae), Gasteruption brachychaetum (Gasteruptiidae), Caenochrysis crotonis (Chrysididae) and Amobia sp. (Diptera: Sarcophagidae). Most bee nests were restrained to the matrix forest and nearby areas, whereas wasps built their nests predominantly in open areas. Regarding seasonality, bees tended to nest in the summer and early autumn influenced by mean temperature, in contrast of wasps that nested in late autumn, winter and spring, influenced by pluviosity. Besides many rare species, which suggests environmental disturbance, the Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro showed a fairly diverse fauna and shows how forest fragment in cities may harbour important representatives of the native fauna.
... MacIvor et al., 2013), nesting associates (e.g. Krombein, 1967;Sheffield et al., 2008;Barthélémy, 2012), etc. They can also be the basis of developing management strategies for pollinators. ...
... Bundles of open-ended hollow reeds are also suitable for this type of work (e.g. Barthélémy, 2012). If one wishes to examine the nesting contents to look at nesting biology or to sample pollen, using laminate nests ( Figure 4b) -which can be taken apart -could be used, though reeds are also easily split to examine nest contents (see Barthélémy, 2012). ...
... Barthélémy, 2012). If one wishes to examine the nesting contents to look at nesting biology or to sample pollen, using laminate nests ( Figure 4b) -which can be taken apart -could be used, though reeds are also easily split to examine nest contents (see Barthélémy, 2012). ...
In South Africa where honey bees (Apis mellifera) are native, they are important for pollination processes that sustain numerous indigenous plants and as managed pollinators of pollinator dependent agricultural crops. Two subspecies, Apis mellifera capensis and Apis mellifera scutellata, are actively managed by beekeepers and provide pollination services to the majority of pollination-dependent crops in the country by moving their colonies to farms during the pollination season. Outside the pollination season, beekeepers undertake practices that provide a honey flow, ensure colony build-up, or trap swarms to replace bees that abscond or die. These practices require a diverse quality and quantity of good forage resources for the honey bees. The study revealed that various forage resources important to beekeepers. an overarching strategy for managing forage resources has to consider the importance of both indigenous and exotic plants, as well as use, availability and accessibility.
