Nest Structure, Seasonality and Female Behavior of Epicharis (Anepicharis) dejeanii Lepeletier (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Centridini) in a Restinga Ecosystem, in Southern Brazil
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Published:2021-03-03
Issue:1
Volume:68
Page:5792
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ISSN:2447-8067
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Container-title:Sociobiology
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language:
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Short-container-title:Sociobiology
Author:
Uemura Natalia,Gobatto André Luiz,Pina Welber Da Costa,Ono Rafael Hideki,Sofia Silvia Helena
Abstract
We investigated the nesting behavior of females of Epicharis dejeanii and the architecture of their nests, in a large aggregation in a Restinga area, on Ilha do Superagui, southern Brazil. Surveys were carried out intermittently through the warm-wet seasons from different years between 2013 and 2017. The nest aggregation occupied an area of approximately 2,000 m2 and was situated on a sand bank and on flat sandy soil. Each nest consisted of a long unbranched tunnel, averaging 1.45 ± 0.35 m (N = 8), connected to a single brood cell with a mean length of 3.13 ± 0.2 cm (N = 13) and mean diameter of 1.2 ± 0.1 cm (N = 11). On average, females carried out 4.0 ± 2.4 foraging trips per day (N = 109) to collect floral resources for provisioning brood cells. Similar times were spent by females in their foraging trips for: only pollen (15.8 ± 14.3 min, N = 72), oil (22.5 ± 15.7 min, N = 45), or both resources (17.0 ± 15.1, N = 63). Our findings reveal that some variation in both nesting architecture and female behavior of E. dejeanii during nesting activities can occur in different locations from the same region.
Publisher
Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana