Abstract
Males of some groups of bees have to find a place outside the nests to sleep, sometimes forming “male sleeping aggregations”. Here we report the first record of “dense” male sleeping aggregation of two different genera of Eucerini bees observed in Bahia, Brazil. We discuss the possible aim of this kind of aggregation as well the plant utilized on aggregate.
Highlights
While females of most solitary bee species spend the night inside their nests in construction, males have to find a place outside the nests to sleep, sometimes forming “male sleeping aggregations” (Evans and Linsley 1960, Oliveira and Castro 2002, Alvesdos-Santos et al 2009)
In this paper we report the first occurrence record of a “dense” male sleeping aggregation including two different genera of Eucerini bees, Melissodes Latreille, 1829 and Melissoptila Holmberg, 1884
Material a. scientificName: Melissodes nigroaenea; acceptedNameUsage: Melissodes (Ecplectica) nigroaenea (Smith, 1854); taxonID: Native; kingdom: Animalia; phylum: Arthropoda; class: Insecta; order: Hymenoptera; family: Apidae; taxonRank: species; genus: Melissodes; subgenus: Ecplectica; specificEpithet: nigroaenea; scientificNameAuthorship: (Smith, 1854); continent: South America; country: Brazil; countryCode: BRA; stateProvince: Bahia; municipality: Ventura; locality: Chapada Diamantina, Morro do Chapéu; locationRemarks: label transliteration: "BRA, Bahia, Morro do Chapéu, Ventura, 29.i.2011; 15h30; 11°40′10.4′′S; 40°58′12′′W, T.Mahlmann & J.Hipólito Leg.”; “03 males sleeping on dried flower”: Lamiaceae, aff
Summary
While females of most solitary bee species spend the night inside their nests in construction, males have to find a place outside the nests to sleep, sometimes forming “male sleeping aggregations” (Evans and Linsley 1960, Oliveira and Castro 2002, Alvesdos-Santos et al 2009). First registered observations for Hymenoptera were made in the middle of XIX century, in which two species of Scoliid wasps were recorded (Westwood 1840) followed by the same behavior in one species in Apidae family (Cresson 1865). These aggregations may contain hundreds or even thousands of male individuals sharing the same sleeping site, where sometimes, but not as a rule, females can be found together (Alcock 1998, Starr and Vélez 2009). In this paper we report the first occurrence record of a “dense” male sleeping aggregation including two different genera of Eucerini bees, Melissodes Latreille, 1829 and Melissoptila Holmberg, 1884
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