Abstract

Biological observations are presented on 5 species of carpenter bees, genus Xylocopa, during the rainy months of June through September in Guanacaste Province, Costa Rica. The foraging activities of 2 species are described. X. gualanensis Cockerell forages throughout the day, gathering nectar at the flowers of Delonix regia and pollen at the flowers of Crotalaria retusa. X. muscaria (F.) was found active at the flowers of a Solanum sp. only during the early morning hours. Circumstantial evidence suggests that this species may forage in the dark, before dawn. This species extracts pollen from the tubular anthers of the Solanum flowers by buzzing its wings and shaking the pollen grains from the anthers. Territorial behavior in the males of X. muscaria is reported for the first time. The nests and nest substrates are described and figured for X. fimbriata F., X. gualanensis, and X. subvirescens Cresson. These are the first nests known of the latter 2 species. The populations of Xylocopa species appear to be in the nonreproductive phases of their life cycles. No brood cells or provisioned nests were found. Examination of nest structures showed great variation in the numbers of tunnels present in each nest. Other features of the nests, such as entrance diameters and internal tunnel diameters, showed less variation with each species. The role of the plants of disturbed habitats in the maintainance of the bee populations during the nonbreeding rainy season is discussed.

Full Text
Published version (Free)

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call