Anthidium Manicatum Research Articles

Territoriality is just an option: allocation of a resource fundamental to the resource defense polygyny in the European wool carder bee, Anthidium manicatum (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae)

The wool carder bee Anthidium manicatum is one textbook example of resource defense polygyny among solitary bees, known for intense male–male competition, forced copulations, and the extreme form of interspecific territoriality toward other flower visitors. This mating system depends on the spatial structure of the defended resource and requires several adaptations in males. The allocation of patches with host plants as well as male body size and phenology was analyzed over 3 years in the diverse habitat of a botanical garden. Anthidium manicatum males searched in groups up to 12 individuals a wide diversity of patches with various food plants of foraging females. Territories were established in small high-quality patches only. Males abandoned aggressive and territorial behavior in large patches. Available patches were occupied by males of the various body size fractions independently of each other according to patch profitability. The higher competitive weight of large males in small patches compared to spacious ones was balanced by an opposing correlation of patch profitability. Although the mating system in A. manicatum is clearly a resource defense polygyny, males were found to be plastic in their behavior, and territoriality was not consistently observed. Mate acquiring tactics, be they territory holder (bourgeois), sneaker, floater, or scrambler for mating, can be considered to be different behavioral phenotypes within one environmentally sensitive conditional strategy.Significance statementTerritoriality is a rare and derived pattern in solitary bee mating behavior. In most cases of territoriality, males defend rendezvous places to meet freshly emerged, virgin females. While this type of mating behavior fits still into the framework of ancestral monandry of aculeate Hymenoptera, the continually polyandric resource defense polygyny found in the genus Anthidium is highly derived. Males occupy flower resources exploited for larval provisions and extort copulations from provisioning nesting females. Territoriality in Anthidium does not lead to a monopolization of females, the exclusion of many competitors from reproduction, and a reduction of sperm competition as is typical for resource-based mating systems. Contrary, Anthidium is a highly promiscuous species and both males and females are lifelong engaged in copulations with multiple mates. Also, the allocation of the resource fundamental to the defense polygyny was found to be more fairly balanced than expected. This study diversifies the mating system of anthidiine bees and demonstrates unusually high plasticity in the resource allocation of a territorial species.

Checklist, diversity and distribution of wild bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea; Anthophila) across Tlemcen mountains, in the north west of Algeria.

Our study concerns the diversity and distribution of wild bees through three sites in the Tlemcen mountains. The present paper contains a checklist of 155 taxa with three new records for the Apoid fauna of Algeria. These are Andrena marginata Fabricius, 1776, Anthidium manicatum Dallatour, 1877 and Megachile latimanus Say, 1823. The index study and the statistical treatments applied to the results made it possible to highlight the composition of this fauna, its dependence on floral resources and its spatio-temporal distribution across the region. The results obtained reveal a high richness of Apoids in this region, the conservation of which is necessary in the future as this fauna plays a key role in the pollination of plants and their diversity within natural and agricultural ecosystems.

Life stages and phylogenetic position of the wool carder bee mite Sennertionyx manicati (Acari: Acaridae).

In mites of the family Acaridae, usually two developmental stages, adult (males, females) and deutonymphal stage (=hypopus) are used for diagnostic descriptions. Because these taxonomically important stages live in different habitats (i.e. deutonymphs are phoretic on a hymenopteran host, while adults live inside the nest of the host), one of these can be missing or they cannot be confidently corelated with each other. Sennertionyx manicati (Acari: Acaridae) was only known from hypopus. Herein, we describe all post-embryonic stages of S. manicati based on material obtained from a nest of Anthidium manicatum in Auckland, New Zealand, and provide a key to all life stages of this species. We also conducted a phylogenetic analysis of the 18S gene and the D2/D3 region of 28S genes from field-collected specimens and GenBank data. The molecular analysis indicated the New Zealand specimen shared the identical 18S and 99.5% identity of the D2D3 region of 28S sequences with S. manicati from Italy, and clustered together in the phylogenetic trees.

Occurrence and ecological data on an exotic solitary bee accidentally introduced in Brazil

Currently, there is a global concern regarding exotic species due to, among other factors, their great ability to reproduce and spread rapidly through the novel environment. As such, these species often compete for nesting places and food resources or convey pathogens. Anthidium manicatum (Linnaeus) (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) is a non-native solitary bee occurring in Brazil. This study aimed to collect data about the occurrence sites of this species to investigate the historical sequence of its spread throughout the country. Based on this, we estimated population data such as the number of males and females, phenology and bioclimatic niche overlap with native species. The occurrence records were retrieved from speciesLink and Global Biodiversity Information Facility. All analyses were performed in R. The collected data demonstrate that, except for the 1960s, the records of the occurrence of A. manicatum in Brazil are few and constant, being notified since the mid-1930s in at least nine Brazilian states. In total, 778 individuals were sampled, with males being recorded about 1.7 times more than females. This species seems to be bivoltine, with generations in May and November. Anthidium manicatum showed a low and moderate bioclimatic niche overlap with two native species, Anthidium sertanicola Moure & Urban and Anthidium latum Schrottky, respectively. These data provide relevant information on the biology and status of A. manicatum in Brazil. However, since most Brazilian scientific collections have not digitalized their data in the platforms consulted here, some ecological features described here may be underestimated.

European Wool Carder Bee, Wool Carder Bee Anthidium manicatum (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Megachilidae)

The European wool carder bee Anthidium manicatum (Linnaeus) is a solitary, cavity-nesting bee species in the family Megachilidae (tribe Anthidiini), a family whose members include the mason and leaf cutter bees. Wool carder bees are so named because the female bee scrapes and collects the soft downy hairs (trichomes) of fuzzy plants to use in building a nest for her young. Some consider male wool carder bees very charismatic and enjoy watching them chase after other bees that invade their territory, while others would call them bullies based on male bees’ aggressive tendencies toward other bees when defending floral resources.
 This species has been called the most widely distributed unmanaged bee in the world (Strange et al. 2011) because of its expansive native and non-native range.
 This document describes its synonymy, distribution, description, life cycle and biology, hosts, economic importance, and includes selected references.Available on EDIS at https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in1274
 Also available on the Featured Creatures website at http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/MISC/BEES/Anthidium_manicatum.html

Ecological impact and population status of non-native bees in a Brazilian urban environment

Abstract The introduction of species is an important global threat to native ecosystems and yet little is known about invasion risks of non-native bees. Moreover, urbanization is increasing rapidly around the world with impact on the bee fauna. The city of Curitiba (Brazil) could be considered a model system for studies under this scope, with historical samplings and monitoring programs since the 1940s. This paper aims to quantify the current ecological impact of the non-native bee species present in Curitiba by using an integrative measure of impact and to define their current population status by classifying them into a unified framework for biological invasions. Ten sites were actively sampled in the metropolitan area of Curitiba during ten months. In addition to Apis mellifera Linnaeus, 1758, we found two others non-native species, Anthidium manicatum (Linnaeus, 1758) and Melipona scutellaris Latreille, 1811. None of them changed the native bee community structure, but they got different values of impact due to their ranges and abundances. While the honeybee is a known invasive species, A. manicatum was also considered invasive and has persisted in the city since the 1940s, interacting with the non-native plant Leonurus japonicus Houtt. M. scutellaris, a cultivated stingless bee species, had its first record for the city and fits the casual non-native category. We suggest monitoring the non-native bee species and actions centered on beekeepers to avoid future illegal introductions. The honey production or hobby interest on stingless bees can offer additional obstacles for species conservation when decoupled of scientific knowledge.

Anthidium manicatum, an invasive bee, excludes a native bumble bee, Bombus impatiens, from floral resources

Anthidium manicatum is an invasive pollinator reaching widespread distribution in North America. Male A. manicatum aggressively defend floral territories, attacking heterospecific pollinators. Female A. manicatum are generalists, visiting many of the same plants as native pollinators. Because of A. manicatum’s rapid range expansion, the territorial behavior of males, and the potential for female A. manicatum to be significant resource competitors, invasive A. manicatum have been prioritized as a species of interest for impact assessment. But despite concerns, there have been no empirical studies investigating the impact of A. manicatum on North American pollinators. Therefore, across a two-year study, we monitored foraging behavior and fitness of the common eastern bumble bee (Bombus impatiens) in response to A. manicatum presence. We found that B. impatiens avoided foraging near A. manicatum in both years; but despite this resource exclusion, we found no evidence of fitness consequences for B. impatiens. These results suggest A. manicatum pose as significant resource competitors, but that B. impatiens are likely able to compensate for this resource loss by finding available resources elsewhere.

Presence-only modeling is ill-suited for a recent generalist invader, Anthidium manicatum

Anthidium manicatum, the European wool-carder bee, is an invasive species of concern given its worldwide invasion and aggressive behavior towards native pollinators. Predicting habitat suitability for this species is imperative for estimating threat to native species, and predicting future spread. Previous habitat suitability models used bioclimatic variables to make predictions across a broad geographic region, but these showed little utility at predicting risk at the local habitat scale. Therefore, we created a model using environmental inputs that vary across a regional scale (land cover type and percent impervious surface) and focused within a more restricted geographic region, the Northeastern (NE) US. Occurrence records were aggregated from open-sourced data and published records, and maximum entropy methods were used to create the model. We created a second model using bioclimatic variables (temperature and precipitation), to compare utility of both model inputs. We then tested the accuracy of both models by performing weighted random sampling and stratified random sampling across the NE to obtain presence and absence data for A. manicatum. Given previous predictions of widespread habitat suitability, it was surprising that out of 140 sampled locations, A. manicatum were only found at seven. When comparing model accuracy (Cohen’s Kappa), both models showed low accuracy (land scape variables KHAT = 0.023; bioclimatic variables KHAT = −0.094). Models were also not significantly different from each other (Z = 0.548). Therefore, presence-only modeling may not be suitable for this system, either because these variables are not capturing factors restricting A. manicatum’s range, or it is too early in the invasion process. Additional probability sampling is suggested to refine predictive models.

Enhancing the Biodiversity of Insects Pollinators through Flowering Grass Strips

The extensive use of plant protection products in agricultural practice and obtaining high and top quality yields results in decline of a major part of the natural regulators and the insects-pollinators. The reduction in their numbers in agricultural areas poses a threat for the pollination of entomophilous plants on global scale. The objective of this study was to establish areas of flowering varieties of grass mixes, ensuring proper habitats and food source for the pollinators of agricultural crops. The tests showed that the plant varieties in the grass mixes blossomed in the period April to June (1.5-2 months), providing varying species of pollinators, depending on the plants species. In the different-coloured layers of the grass mixtures: white, purple and yellow, the following pollinators were determined: Apis mellifera L., Megachile sp., Halictus scabiosae Rossi, Lasioglossum xanthopus Kirby, Melita leporita, Andrena flavipes Panzer., Macropis europaeae Warn., Anthidium manicatum L., Ceratina cucurbitina Rossi and Ceratina sp.

The European wool-carder bee (Anthidium manicatum) eavesdrops on plant volatile organic compounds (VOCs) during trichome collection

The plant-pollinator relationship is generally considered mutualistic. This relationship is less clear, however, when pollinators also cause tissue damage. Some Megachilidae bees collect plant material for nests from the plants they pollinate. In this study, we examined the relationship between Anthidium manicatum, the European wool-carder bee, and the source of its preferred nesting material − Stachys byzantina, lamb’s ear. Female A. manicatum use their mandibles to trim trichomes from plants for nesting material (a behaviour dubbed “carding”). Using volatile organic compound (VOC) headspace analysis and behavioural observations, we explored (a) how carding effects S. byzantina and (b) how A. manicatum may choose specific S. byzantina plants. We found that removal of trichomes leads to a dissimilar VOC bouquet compared to intact leaves, with a significant increase in VOC detection following damage. A. manicatum also visit S. byzantina plants with trichomes removed at a greater frequency compared to plants with trichomes intact. Our data suggest that A. manicatum eavesdrop on VOCs produced by damaged plants, leading to more carding damage for individual plants due to increased detectability by A. manicatum. Accordingly, visitation by A. manicatum to S. byzantina may incur both a benefit (pollination) and cost (tissue damage) to the plant.

First record of the invasive bee <i>Anthidium manicatum</i> (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) in Chile

The Palearctic wool carder bee Anthidium manicatum (Linnaeus) is recorded for the first time in Chile based on eight specimens collected on Lavandula sp. (Lamiaceae) in San Bernardo, Metropolitan Region. This new record expands the invasive range of this species in South America, confirming previous predictions based on an ecological niche model.

Plant secretions prevent wasp parasitism in nests of wool-carder bees, with implications for the diversification of nesting materials in Megachilidae

Bees make use of plant substrates in more ways than any other group of insects, which is probably linked to their diversification and ecological success. The highly diverse Megachilidae use a wide range of plant-derived brood cell-building materials, including plant leaves, mortar made from plant tissue, resin, plant hairs (‘plant wool’), and plant trichome secretions. While certain plant-derived materials are believed to protect nests against microbial decay, this has not been tested, and the factors driving diversification of nesting materials are poorly understood. Here, we investigated the protective effects of plant-derived extrafloral trichome secretions which female European wool-carder bees, Anthidium manicatum, smear on their brood cells. By breeding bees in cages with differential resource supply we generated brood cells with or without trichome secretions. Brood cells with trichome secretions were less attractive to parasitic wasps (Monodontomerus obscurus) in Y-maze olfactometer tests. Also, when exposed at sites where A. manicatum occurs in natural populations, brood cells smeared with trichome secretions were less affected by wasp (Melittobia acasta) parasitism than those without trichome secretions. On the other hand, trichome secretions did not prevent the growth of mold on brood cells, and larval mortality due to microbial decay was almost non-existent even when brood cells were exposed to rainfall. We conclude that the use of plant trichome secretion for brood cell construction has more likely evolved to create enemy-free space in response to chalcidoid wasp parasitism. Parasitoids are likely an underestimated cause of the diversification of cell construction materials and adaptive radiation in megachilid bees.

Understanding sampling and taxonomic biases recorded by citizen scientists

Projects involving citizen scientists have greatly increased over the last decade and understanding errors associated with such projects has been identified as an important step. NatureWatch NZ is a biodiversity recording system accessible to members of the public. The “NZ wasps, ants, bees and parasitoids (Hymenoptera) project” was initiated within NatureWatch NZ in December 2012, and comparisons were analysed between these records and the known Hymenoptera fauna of the New Zealand region. Over the course of 1 year 25 members contributed 360 records from 186 taxa, including the discovery of several introduced species new to New Zealand. There was a strong geographical bias to the records, with the majority being based around the major cities. Aculeates (stinging wasps) were significantly over-represented in the NatureWatch records. Only half (55 %) of taxa were identified to species level, with a further 28 % at genus level, and 17 % identified above genus level (family, order). Furthermore, the majority (65 %) of taxa were recorded only once, and only a few taxa were recorded >5 times (top records were “Ichneumonidae”, “Hymenoptera”, Anthidium manicatum, and Apis mellifera). It is probable that these same biases also exist for many other taxonomic groups in projects operated by citizen scientists lacking set protocols. Caution should be exercised on the subsequent use, compilation, and analysis of citizen science, especially without prior examination of records and potential biases.

‘Late’ male sperm precedence in polyandrous wool-carder bees and the evolution of male resource defence in Hymenoptera

The mating system of European wool-carder bees, Anthidium manicatum, differs from that of most bees in three important aspects: females (1) are polyandrous and (2) mate continuously over the course of their reproductive life, while males (3) exhibit resource defence polygyny, that is, defend patches of food plants where copulations occur. To shed light on the evolution of this mating system we investigated male paternity using a combination of cage experiments and microsatellite genotyping of brood. We found that, although females possess a spermatheca for long-term sperm storage, most brood was fathered by males that had very recently mated with the breeding female, indicating pronounced last (or at least ‘late’) male sperm precedence. In the absence of males (male exclusion experiment) a large proportion of eggs remained unfertilized (resulting in haploid male offspring), but some diploid daughters arose from fathers that had been removed at least 11 days prior to egg laying. It appears that most A. manicatum eggs are fertilized with sperm from the bursa copulatrix, while the spermatheca serves only as a backup reservoir. This is the first demonstration of last male sperm precedence in aculeate Hymenoptera (bees, wasps, ants). We suggest that it has coevolved with ‘resource defence’ or

Assessing the impact of an introduced bee, Anthidium manicatum, on pollinator communities in New Zealand

Introduced pollinator species may exacerbate the problems faced by pollinator communities, so the detection in 2006 of a new solitary bee, Anthidium manicatum, to New Zealand was concerning. We assess whether establishment of this wool-carder bee presents potential risks to native flora and fauna by recording its current distribution, which plant species it visits, which insects co-occur at these plants, and identifying which species this territorial bee attacks. Anthidium manicatum is now widespread in urban New Zealand. More than 80% of the plants visited by A. manicatum were exotic species (predominantly Lamiaceae and Plantaginaceae), although it also visited native species of Veronica (Plantaginaceae) and Lobelia (Campanulaceae). Anthidium manicatum primarily interacted with other introduced bees. Native Lasioglossum bees were seldom attacked and only for short durations. Further research is required, particularly on weeds, but we suggest that A. manicatum does not present a major direct threat to New Zealand's native flora and fauna.

Wool carder bees of the genusAnthidiumin the Western Hemisphere (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae): diversity, host plant associations, phylogeny, and biogeography

Bees are among the most important pollinators of flowering plants in most ecosystems. Recent concerns about population decline worldwide have highlighted the urgent societal need for species-level systematic work that facilitates assessments of the status of pollinators and pollination services. This is a comprehensive, broadly comparative study on the diversity, biology, biogeography, and evolution of Anthidium Fabricius, 1804, one of the most diverse megachilid genera, containing more than 160 species worldwide. Herein, the Western Hemisphere species are revised. All 92 recognized species, including the two adventive species Anthidium oblongatum (Illiger, 1806) and Anthidium manicatum (Linnaeus, 1758), are described and illustrated. A neotype for Anthidium emarginatum (Say, 1824) and lectotypes for 16 names are designated; five names are relegated to synonymy, three names are revalidated, previously unknown males of three species are described, and 21 new species are proposed. Identification keys as well as information on the distribution, seasonality, nesting biology, and host plants are provided. The relationships of the Anthidium subgenera and all Western Hemisphere species are explored using a cladistic analysis based on adult external morphological characters. The subgenus Callanthidium Cockerell, 1925, renders Anthidiums.s. paraphylectic in the analysis, and is here synonymized. The resulting phylogenetic hypothesis is used to examine possible biogeographical patterns, origins of the Western Hemisphere fauna, and the evolution of morphological traits associated with foraging for pollen from nototribic flowers and exudates from glandular trichomes. To facilitate the transfer of knowledge to non-specialists, some digital outputs and web-based products, including a geo-referenced specimen database consisting of more than 20 000 records, species pages, and interactive digital keys, were also developed during this study.

Global invasion by Anthidium manicatum (Linnaeus) (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae): assessing potential distribution in North America and beyond

The wool carder bee, Anthidium manicatum, is the most widely distributed unmanaged bee in the world. It was unintentionally introduced to North America in the late 1960s from Europe, and subsequently, into South America, New Zealand and the Canary Islands. We provide information on the local distribution, seasonal abundance and sex ratio of A. manicatum from samples collected in an intensive two-year survey across Utah, USA. Anthidium manicatum was detected in 10 of the 29 Utah counties, largely in urban and suburban settings. Combining presence-only and MaxEnt background data from literature, museum databases and new records from Utah, we constructed three species distribution models to examine the potential distribution of A. manicatum in its native Eurasian range as well as invaded ranges of North and South America. The A. manicatum model based on locality and background data from the species’ native range predicted 50% of the invasive records associated with high habitat suitability (HS ≥ 0.90). The invasive North American model predicted a much broader distribution of A. manicatum (214% increase); whereas, the South American model predicted a narrower distribution (88% decrease). The poor predictive power of the latter model in estimating suitable habitats in the invasive South American range of A. manicatum suggests that the bee may still be limited by the bioclimatic constraints associated with a novel environment. Estimates of niche similarity (D) between the native and invasive models find that the North America bioclimatic niche is more similar to the bioclimatic niche of the native model (D = 0.78), whereas the bioclimatic niche of the South America invasion is relatively dissimilar (D = 0.69). We discuss the naturalization of A. manicatum in North America, possibly through punctuated dispersal, the probability of suitable habitats across the globe and the synanthropy exhibited by this invasive species.

Nest site selection in the European wool-carder bee, Anthidium manicatum, with methods for an emerging model species

For many organisms, choosing an appropriate nest site is a critical component of reproductive fitness. Here we examine nest site selection in the solitary, resource defense polygynous bee, Anthidium manicatum. Using a wood-framed screen enclosure outfitted with food sources, nesting materials, and bamboo trap nests, we show that female bees prefer to initiate nests in sites located high above the ground. We also show that nest sites located at higher levels are less likely to contain spiderwebs, suggesting an adaptive explanation for nest site height preferences. We report size differences between this study’s source populations in Boston, Massachusetts and Brooklyn, New York; male bees collected in Boston have smaller mean head widths than males collected in Brooklyn. Finally, we argue that methods for studying captive populations of A. manicatum hold great promise for research into sexual selection, alternative phenotypes, recognition systems, and the evolution of nesting behavior.

Is the occluded corolla of Antirrhinum bee-specialized?

This paper provides the first results of pollinator fauna associated to the reproductive biology of Antirrhinum charidemi, Antirrhinum graniticum and Antirrhinum braun-blanquetii. Censuses of over 16 hours spanning the flowering phenology of each species were drawn up. As previously hypothesized, the characteristic occluded (personate) corolla of Antirrhinum was exclusively pollinated by bees, but by a higher number (four) of bee families than predicted. Seven bee species (Bombus hortorum, Anthidium manicatum, Chalicodoma lefebvrei, Anthidium sticticum, Anthophora dispar, Xylocopa violacea and Anthidium cingulatum) account for over 90% of flower visits (2098). The flower visitation index varied between species (0.0126−0.0320), reaching relatively medium values compared to Mediterranean plants. In contrast, reproductive success was found to be high when estimated as both fruit (45.4–84.2%) and seed (75.4–98.4%) sets, suggesting that these bee guilds are effective pollinators of the three self-incompatible Antirrhinum species. Specialization of the personate flower of Antirrhinum is therefore interpreted for bees with both large bodies and high visitation indices.

New Distributional Records of Three Alien Species of Megachilidae (Hymenoptera) from Connecticut and Nearby States

New distributional records are presented for three non-native megachilid bees—Anthidium manicatum (Linnaeus), Anthidium oblongatum (Illiger), and Megachile sculpturalis Smith. These bees inhabited every county in Connecticut and several others in nearby northeastern states. My records of A. manicatum from Massachusetts and Rhode Island and of A. oblongatum from Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont represent the first published state records. The multiple, largely exotic, floral hosts reported with the distributional records provide more evidence that A. manicatum and A. oblongatum are polylectic. The current distributional range and the potential impact of these adventive species are discussed briefly.