Floral Resources and Nesting Requirements of the Ground-Nesting Social Bee, Lasioglossum malachurum (Hymenoptera: Halictidae), in a Mediterranean Semiagricultural Landscape
In order to adopt correct conservation strike plans to maintain bee pollination activity it is necessary to know the species' resource utilisation and requirements. We investigated the floral resources and the nesting requirements of the eusocial bee Lasioglossum malachurum Kirby at various sit...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2010-01-01
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| Series: | Psyche: A Journal of Entomology |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2010/851947 |
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| author | Carlo Polidori Alice Rubichi Valeria Barbieri Luca Trombino Marta Donegana |
| author_facet | Carlo Polidori Alice Rubichi Valeria Barbieri Luca Trombino Marta Donegana |
| author_sort | Carlo Polidori |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In order to adopt correct conservation strike plans to maintain bee pollination activity it is necessary to know the species' resource utilisation and requirements. We investigated the floral resources and the nesting requirements of the eusocial bee Lasioglossum malachurum Kirby at various sites in a Mediterranean landscape. Analysis of bees' pollen loads showed that Compositae was the more exploited family, although interpopulations differences appeared in the pollen types used. From 5 to 7 pollen types were used by bees, but only as few as 1–1.9 per load. Variations of the pollen spectrum through the annual nesting cycle were conspicuous. At all sites, bees nested in horizontal ground areas with high soil hardness, low acidity, and rare superficial stones. On the other side, the exploited soil was variable in soil granulometry (although always high in % of silt or sand) and it was moderately variable in content of organic matter and highly variable in vegetation cover. Creation of ground patches with these characteristics in proximity of both cultivated and natural flowering fields may successfully promote colonization of new areas by this bee. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-21d06e09f32f423396457e8ae27c4cb6 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0033-2615 1687-7438 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2010-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Psyche: A Journal of Entomology |
| spelling | doaj-art-21d06e09f32f423396457e8ae27c4cb62025-02-03T01:30:55ZengWileyPsyche: A Journal of Entomology0033-26151687-74382010-01-01201010.1155/2010/851947851947Floral Resources and Nesting Requirements of the Ground-Nesting Social Bee, Lasioglossum malachurum (Hymenoptera: Halictidae), in a Mediterranean Semiagricultural LandscapeCarlo Polidori0Alice Rubichi1Valeria Barbieri2Luca Trombino3Marta Donegana4Dipartimento di Biologia, Sezione di Zoologia e Citologia, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 26, 20133 Milano, ItalyDipartimento di Biologia, Sezione di Zoologia e Citologia, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 26, 20133 Milano, ItalyDipartimento di Biologia, Sezione di Zoologia e Citologia, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 26, 20133 Milano, ItalyDipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Mangiagalli 34, 20133 Milano, ItalyLaboratorio di Palinologia e Paleoecologia, Istituto per la Dinamica dei Processi Ambiental, Consiglio Nazionale Ricerche, Piazza della Scienza 1, 20126 Milano, ItalyIn order to adopt correct conservation strike plans to maintain bee pollination activity it is necessary to know the species' resource utilisation and requirements. We investigated the floral resources and the nesting requirements of the eusocial bee Lasioglossum malachurum Kirby at various sites in a Mediterranean landscape. Analysis of bees' pollen loads showed that Compositae was the more exploited family, although interpopulations differences appeared in the pollen types used. From 5 to 7 pollen types were used by bees, but only as few as 1–1.9 per load. Variations of the pollen spectrum through the annual nesting cycle were conspicuous. At all sites, bees nested in horizontal ground areas with high soil hardness, low acidity, and rare superficial stones. On the other side, the exploited soil was variable in soil granulometry (although always high in % of silt or sand) and it was moderately variable in content of organic matter and highly variable in vegetation cover. Creation of ground patches with these characteristics in proximity of both cultivated and natural flowering fields may successfully promote colonization of new areas by this bee.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2010/851947 |
| spellingShingle | Carlo Polidori Alice Rubichi Valeria Barbieri Luca Trombino Marta Donegana Floral Resources and Nesting Requirements of the Ground-Nesting Social Bee, Lasioglossum malachurum (Hymenoptera: Halictidae), in a Mediterranean Semiagricultural Landscape Psyche: A Journal of Entomology |
| title | Floral Resources and Nesting Requirements of the Ground-Nesting Social Bee, Lasioglossum malachurum (Hymenoptera: Halictidae), in a Mediterranean Semiagricultural Landscape |
| title_full | Floral Resources and Nesting Requirements of the Ground-Nesting Social Bee, Lasioglossum malachurum (Hymenoptera: Halictidae), in a Mediterranean Semiagricultural Landscape |
| title_fullStr | Floral Resources and Nesting Requirements of the Ground-Nesting Social Bee, Lasioglossum malachurum (Hymenoptera: Halictidae), in a Mediterranean Semiagricultural Landscape |
| title_full_unstemmed | Floral Resources and Nesting Requirements of the Ground-Nesting Social Bee, Lasioglossum malachurum (Hymenoptera: Halictidae), in a Mediterranean Semiagricultural Landscape |
| title_short | Floral Resources and Nesting Requirements of the Ground-Nesting Social Bee, Lasioglossum malachurum (Hymenoptera: Halictidae), in a Mediterranean Semiagricultural Landscape |
| title_sort | floral resources and nesting requirements of the ground nesting social bee lasioglossum malachurum hymenoptera halictidae in a mediterranean semiagricultural landscape |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2010/851947 |
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