Cavity-Nest Boxes for Solitary Bees: a Century of Design and Research J
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Cavity-nest boxes for solitary bees: a century of design and research J. Scott Macivor To cite this version: J. Scott Macivor. Cavity-nest boxes for solitary bees: a century of design and research. Apidologie, 2017, 48 (3), pp.311-327. 10.1007/s13592-016-0477-z. hal-02973424 HAL Id: hal-02973424 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02973424 Submitted on 21 Oct 2020 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Apidologie (2017) 48:311–327 Review article * INRA, DIB and Springer-Verlag France, 2016 DOI: 10.1007/s13592-016-0477-z Cavity-nest boxes for solitary bees: a century of design and research J. Scott MACIVOR Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, 1265 Military Trail, Toronto, ON M1C 1A5, Canada Received 25 May 2016 – Revised 3 September 2016 – Accepted 26 September 2016 Abstract – A variety of solitary bee species that naturally nest in wood and plant stems aboveground also readily accept nest boxes, which are human-made devices that aggregate these nesting conditions. Nest boxes are sheltered bundles of hollow plant stems, bamboo or reeds, and holes drilled into wood or cavities made of other materials such as glass or polystyrene. In this paper, I examine the best practises in nest box material selection and construction, and the use of nest boxes to address four basic objectives related to our understanding of bee biology and enhancement of pollination services. A variety of materials and cavity dimensions are included in nest boxes that are used to monitor local bee diversity or to address fundamental questions in community ecology and environmental change. Others examine bee biology, physiology and behaviour that use nest boxes to obtain bees for further experimentation. The majority of studies use nest boxes in agricultural landscapes and in alternative pollinator management; these studies improve nest box design for target bee species to augment their numbers. Continued design and data sharing, as well as the refinement of nest box construction and deployment for specific objectives, will ensure they remain useful tools for bee science, conservation and alternative pollinator management. cavity-nestingbees/alternativepollinatormanagement/wildbees/biodiversity/agroecosystems/trapnest/bee hotel / pollinator garden 1. INTRODUCTION nest sites for bumble bees (1.5 % colonized of N = 654 nests set out over 3 years), Sheffield Different survey methods and sampling tools et al. (2014) setting out overturned flower pot are available to study wild bees in their natural saucers (‘nesting saucers’)forOsmia inermis habitats. Some of these techniques sample broad- (Zetterstedt) which nest at the surface of the ly, such as pan traps (Kearns and Inouye 1993; ground under stones (10 % colonized of Gezon et al. 2015), window traps (Rubene et al. N = 60), and Silva et al. (2014) using plastic 2015), Malaise traps (Malaise 1937; Darling and bottles treated with propolis and wax to attract Packer 1988), sweep netting (Richards et al. nesting colonies of stingless bees (five species, 2011) and observations of visitors to flowers 3.5 % colonized of N = 720 over 2 years). (Deguines et al. 2016). Other survey methods Another method having far greater success in target certain taxa by creating analogues of their attracting a target community of bees are nest nesting habitat. A few examples include Fussell boxes (also ‘trap nests’, ‘bee condos’, ‘bee hotels’, and Corbet (1992) making wood and clay-brick ‘bee boxes’) (Maeta and Kitamura 1964; Krombein 1967; Bosch and Kemp 2002; Tylianakis et al. 2005;Westphaletal.2008; Holzschuh et al. 2009; Barthélémy 2012; Corresponding author: J. MacIvor, MacIvor et al. 2014). These bee species are soli- [email protected] tary and in each nesting cavity, a reproductive Manuscript editor: Alexandra Klein female will construct brood cells in a linear series 312 J.S. MacIvor from the back of the tunnel to the front. Depend- are usually much larger than those in home gar- ing on the species, she will partition each brood dens or public spaces (Wilson et al. 1999). In all cell using materials that are taxon-specific and can cases, basic features of a nest box include a shel- include cut pieces of leaves, tree resins, mud or tered set of a few to several hundred nesting pebbles (Krombein 1967;Caneetal.2007). As a cavities made of porous materials such as wood, group, these bees are referred to as cavity nesters cardboard or polystyrene, opened at one end only, and naturally nest in hollow plant stems, cavities and (optimally) about 15–20 cm in length and an in wood or other structures above ground, includ- internal diameter of <1 cm. ing those in human-made infrastructure such as Studies that use nest boxes can be grouped nail holes (Raw 1972) and cracks in mortar be- in two ways: (1) those intending to study bees tween bricks (Blochtein and Wittmann 1988). As in a natural setting and (2) those augmenting central place foragers, once a suitable nesting site numbers to obtain bees for pollination services is found, bees will forage within a range around or for experimental research. In the first exam- this site, provisioning the nest with the various ple, using nest boxes to study bees has led to resources they seek (Gathmann et al. 1994; a significant understanding of key aspects of Peterson and Roitberg 2006). As a result, identi- their ecology, diversity, nesting, and foraging fying the nesting location of a bee provides infor- biology, as well as how environmental factors mation on its resource use and the environment in impact their populations. Using nest boxes to which it is living, not just where it is passing study how bees respond to landscape changes, through (Grixti and Packer 2006). such as those resulting from urbanization Nest boxes have been used to observe and (MacIvor and Packer 2015;Forteletal.2016) study cavity-nesting bees for more than a cen- or climate change (Forrest and Thomson 2011) tury and initially were largely inspired by ob- could be extrapolated to impacts experienced servations of bees constructing nests in natu- by all bees (Westphal et al. 2008). In these rally occurring materials. In 1918, the natural- studies, nest boxes are a key component of the ist and writer Jean-Henri Fabre described the experimental design; for example, researchers nest building activities and homing abilities of consider its design, how many and where they mason bees nesting in the straw thatching that are placed to best answer a set of questions. In formed his roof (Fabre 1918). Balfour- the second example, nest boxes are simply Browne’s(1925) ‘bee wall’ used bricks to hold tools used to increase the number of bees for elderberry stems and glass tubes in place to pollination services or for further experimenta- survey local cavity-nesting bees in his residen- tion ancillary to the nest box used to obtain tial garden. Over time, different materials were the bee specimens. In each example, nest box- tested for field durability, ease of maintenance es play an important role but require different and use by different species, including glass designs, materials and implementation. tubes (Hartman et al. 1944), plant stems (Rau In this paper, I identify best practises for mate- 1937;Hicks1937;Frost1943) and holes rial selection and construction of nest boxes for drilled in wooden blocks (Peck and Bolton cavity-nesting bees and recommend design 1946; Bohart 1955). These early investigations criteria to address four primary objectives. Two and field observations led to the use of nest of these objectives require nest boxes to monitor boxes in agriculture as a means of augmenting bees in their environment and two utilize nest solitary bee pollinators of flowering crops boxes to enhance numbers of bees for manage- (Bohart 1955;Medler1958;Fye1965a;Raw ment or further experimentation. A secondary 1972; Maeta and Kitamura 1974;Torchio goal in surveying the literature on this topic is to 1976). highlight to readers the broad applications of nest Nest boxes today are made from a wide range boxes as tools in the study of bees and in bee of materials with no two designs the same. Many education, to enhance target species for pollina- are small and sold in stores to gardeners, ready- tion and engage local communities with wild (e.g. made or as DIYprojects. Those used in agriculture non-honey bee) pollinators. Artificial nest boxes to study wild bees 313 2. DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS often to describe the source of nesting cavities, and the dominant reed identified to species is A variety of materials are used to construct nest Phragmites australis (Cav.)Trin.exSteud.(Fam- boxes to house cavity-nesting bees (see https:// ily: Poaceae), with one other reed species used resonatingbodies.wordpress.com). Many factors Saccharum spontaneum L. (Poaceae) (Kessler impact the effectiveness of nest boxes including et al. 2009). Three globally invasive plant species, the material and dimensions (length, width) of the Phyllostachys aurea C.R. Riviere (Poacaeae) nesting cavities, as well as pattern and colour of (Musicante and Salvo 2010), Arundo donax L. the nest box, and its positioning, orientation and (Poaceae) and Fallopia japonica (Houtt.) Ronse the timing of placement in the habitat studied Decr. (Polygonaceae) are also used and collecting (Krombein 1967; Bohart 1972; Budrienė et al. them for nest boxes could contribute to manage- 2004;Gastonetal.2005; Everaars et al.