Abstract
Summary The diversity of solitary bees varies depending on the vegetation, nesting habitats, and nesting fragmentation. The agriculture development in the Suez Canal region is receiving a great deal of attention in Egypt, thus, the diversity of solitary bees are essential for high quality production of seeds, vegetables, and fruit. The objective of this study was to evaluate the biodiversity of solitary bee populations around the Canal region. About 900 - 1000 specimens of bees were collected from different locations of the Ismailia, Suez, and Sinai Governorates. Fifty-five species of bees were identified. With the exception of Melittidae family, all the bee families were present in the Canal region. The total number of species for each family were 7, 9, 11, 13, and 15 species for Andrenidae, Colletidae, Apidae, Halictidae, and Megachilidae, respectively. Lasioglossum mandibularie (Morawitz, 1866) is a newly recorded species collected from Egypt. In the Suez Canal region, the most abundant species found with large populations were Andrena ovatula ssp. ovatula (Kirby, 1802), Ceratina tarsata Morawitz, 1872, and Colletes lacunatus Dours, 1872.
Highlights
Pollinators provide essential ecosystem services that contribute to the maintenance of biodiversity and the survival of plant species, including crops that offer food security to numerous households (Morse and Calderone, 2000)
Honeybees and bumble bees are very important from an economical point of view but wild bees are necessary for plant pollination
The aim of the current study is to address the biodiversity of native bee populations, their floral resources, and nesting habitats, around the Canal region of Egypt
Summary
Pollinators provide essential ecosystem services that contribute to the maintenance of biodiversity and the survival of plant species, including crops that offer food security to numerous households (Morse and Calderone, 2000). The principle pollinators of the most important crops are bees. Honeybees and bumble bees are very important from an economical point of view but wild bees are necessary for plant pollination. Many studies revealed that some plants need certain species of pollinators or bees other than honeybees. Certain wild bees are more superior to honeybees for pollination (Kamel et al, 2007; Shebl et al, 2008a; b). Throughout the world, agriculture production and biodiversity are threatened by decreasing populations of bees and other pollinators. Many cultivated plants are bee pollinated, so maintenance of the wild bee populations is important for genetic diversity
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