cleptoparasites and host bee population dynamics I
James Cane
Hi folks- So is there field data for cleptoparasitic bees causing the demise of nesting aggregations of their host bees? I posed that question here a few weeks ago. Several of you kindly replied to my question about the existence of published literature on the topic, of which there is very little indeed. Several of you, including me, have seen circumstantial evidence indicating this phenomenon, with regrets for not having stopped to document it, but actual reported events are very few. I mentioned my one incomplete case with ground-nesting Megachile addenda aggregated in a cranberry bog.
Cane JH, Schiffhauer D, Kervin LJ. 1996. Pollination, foraging, and nesting ecology of the leaf-cutting bee Megachile (Delomegachile) addenda (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) on cranberry beds. Ann.Entomol.Soc.Amer. 89:361–367.
There are two more for which I have been unable to obtain reprints. Knerer was suggested by Laurence Packer. I list these here.
Bischoff I. 2003. Population dynamics of the solitary digger bee Andrena vaga Panzer (Hymenoptera, Andrenidae) studied using mark-recapture and nest counts. Popul.Ecol. 45:197–204.
Knerer G. 1973. Periodizitat und Strategie der Schmarotzer einer sozialen Schmalbiene, Evylaeus malachurus (K.) (Apoidea : Halictidae). Zool Anz. 190:41–63.
There is actually more known about persistent nesting aggregations, which you will find summarized in the discussion in this paper of mine.
Cane JH. 2008. A native ground-nesting bee (Nomia melanderi) sustainably managed to pollinate alfalfa across an intensively agricultural landscape. Apidologie. 39:315–323.
I recollected a scholarly paper that scoured the literature for all reported evidence for quantified fates of bee brood cells. It is well-worth reading and remembering. It is comprehensive!
Minckley RL, Danforth BN. 2019. Sources and frequency of brood loss in solitary bees. Apidologie. 50(4):515–525. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13592-019-00663-2
Perhaps species that regularly aggregate for nesting are adapted for the problems that accompany gregarious nesting. The case of Megachile addenda seems to be consistent with that hypothesis, for although it can be common at flowers of cultivated cranberries in the Northeast US, no nesting aggregation has been reported before or since. And the one time we saw them aggregate, they multiplied well until Coelioxys multiplied even faster, propelling them to their demise. Such an uncommon flash-in-the-pan is also consistent with the paucity of evidence for cleptoparasites driving natural nesting aggregations to local extinction.
I will post a second message for my idea of simple and convenient recording of ratios of cleptoparasites to nesting host bees in an aggregation.
yerz, jim
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VEREECKEN Nicolas J.
Prof. Nicolas J. Vereecken
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