The Social Organisation of Halictus Ligatus (Hymenoptera; Halictidae) in Southern Ontario

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

The Social Organisation of Halictus Ligatus (Hymenoptera; Halictidae) in Southern Ontario The social organisation of Halictus ligatus (Hymenoptera; Halictidae) in southern Ontario LAURENCEPACKER' Department of Zoology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ont., Canada M5S 1Al Received November 14, 1985 PACKER,L. 1986. The social organisation of Halictus ligatus (Hymenoptera; Halictidae) in southern Ontario. Can. J. Zool. 64: 2317-2324. The social organisation of Halictus ligatus was studied at Victoria, southern Ontario. At this locality, the one worker brood has a protracted period of emergence; this results in small colony populations throughout the summer activity phase. Workers average 12.7% smaller than their queens, 60% of them have some ovarian development, and 42% of them mate. More males are produced towards the very end of the first brood than earlier in the spring provisioning phase. These late first brood males probably survive to mate with reproductive brood females. In orphaned nests, one worker dominates the others to become a replacement queen. Most replacement queens are mated and orphaned colonies produce reproductives of both sexes. Data from this population are compared with those of other studies of this, and other, halictine species. PACKER,L. 1986. The social organisation of Halictus ligatus (Hymenoptera; Halictidae) in southern Ontario. Can. J. Zool. 64: 23 17-2324. L'organisation sociale d'Halictus ligatus a fait l'objet d'une Ctude a Victoria dans le sud de I'Ontario. A cet endroit, l'unique cohorte d'ouvrikres a une pCriode d'kmergence prolongCe; les populations de cette colonie sont donc petites au cours de la phase d'activitk de 1'CtC. Les ouvrikes sont en moyenne de 12,7% plus petites que les reines, 60% d'entre elles subissent un certain dCveloppement ovarien et 42% d'entre elles s'accouplent. Plus de males sont produits a la toute fin de 1'Cmergence que plus t8t au printemps durant la phase d'approvisionnement de la colonie. Ces males qui apparaissent tardivement au cours de la premike reproduction survivent probablement pour s'accoupler aux femelles reproductrices de la cohorte. Dans les nids oh il n'y a plus de reine, une ouvrikre domine les autres et sert de reine rempla~ante.La plupart des reines de remplacement s'accouplent et les colonies orphelines produisent des individus reproducteurs des deux sexes. Ces donnCes sont comparCes a celles qui ont CtC obtenues au cours d'autres Ctudes sur cette espkce et sur d'autres espkces d'halictinCs. [Traduit par la revue] Introduction Halictus ligatus is an example of a species that has the Halictine bees exhibit a remarkable diversity of social second type of colony cycle. Although haplometrotic nests may organisation, with solitary and eusocial species often being have a period of inactivity during the development of the first found within the same subgenus. The colony cycles of the more brood, pleometrotic nests do not, and there is continuous advanced eusocial species may be divided into two broad activity after worker emergence until the departure of the last groups. In the first type, periods of complete inactivity separate reproductive brood individual. Despite there having been more differentFor personal use only. brood provisioning phases. This colony cycle is found field studies of this species than any other social halictine in the "carinate" members of the Lasioglossurn subgenus (Chandler 1955; Kirkton 1968; Roberts 1973; Raw 1975; Litte Evylaeus (Packer and Knerer 1985). In the second, nests are 1977; Michener and Bennett 1977; Knerer 1980; Eickwort 1985; active from the emergence of the first workers until their demise Packer and Knerer 1986a), much remains to be discovered and the emergence of the last reproductives in late summer or about its basic biology. autumn. This type of colony cycle is found in many species of The study reported here was carried out near Victoria, Lasioglossurn (Dialictus) (Breed 1976), Halictus (Knerer 1980), Ontario. Unless stated otherwise, only data from 1984 will be and in some "non-carinate" Lasioglossurn (Evylaeus) (Knerer presented here. In 1984, 130 nests were excavated; additional 1981). An additional feature, i. e. , pleometrotic founding of observations at the nest site were made in 1983 and 1985. some colonies, cuts across this classification. Pleometrotic Analyses of variation in nest architecture of this population of nests of the first colony type will often remain open between H. ligatus have been published elsewhere (Packer and Knerer spring and summer provisioning phases while the subordinates 19866) and data on pleometrosis are presented in an accom- panying article (Packer 1986). A detailed analysis of female continueCan. J. Zool. Downloaded from www.nrcresearchpress.com by YORK UNIV on 02/13/16 foraging. Pleometrotic nests of the second colony type often remain active from initiation in spring until their demise in reproductive success and the sex ratio is in preparation. autumn. Methods These two basic types of social organisation present different The study site was visited several times each week from the problems to the student of halictine societies. Bees with bursts beginning of the prenesting phase until the emergence of the reproduc- of activity separated by periods of nest closure are easier to tive brood. The positions of nests were marked with bamboo skewers study. This is because brood development is comparatively with a reference number written on tape at the top. Bees were caught, synchronized and nest excavation towards the end of the marked, measured, and released, and nests were excavated as inactive phases will often give a complete picture of brood sex described by Packer and Knerer (1986~).The only methodological ratio and offspring size. Those species which are continuously difference was that Johnson's baby powder, rather than paprika, was active are more difficult to study: a picture of colony develop- blown down the nest entrances to facilitate excavation. ment has to be pieced together from data from many nests Traditionally, students of halictine biology count the number of excavated throughout the colony cycle. developed ovarioles to gain an estimate of relative fecundity of females. Previous studies of H. ligatus (Litte 1977; Michener and Bennett 1977) have distinguished four categories of ovarian develop- 'present address: Department of Biology, University College of ment: class A with five or six developed ovarioles, B with three or four, Cape Breton, P.O. Box 5300, Sydney, N.S., Canada BlP 6L2. C with one or two, and D with no ovarian development. This procedure Printed In Canada I Imprime au Canada 2318 CAN. J. ZOOL. VOL. 64, 1986 was followed here. Another technique used to judge ovarian develop- ment is to measure the width of the most developed oocyte. These methods have been improved upon here by separating developing and pollen resorbing ovariole contents (distinguished by shape and colouration balls differences) and by estimating the fraction of a whole oocyte present in each ovariole. Fractions of 0, 114, 112, 314, and 1 were estimated by eye. Thus, five scores are available for each female's ovarian development: (i) the traditional A to D categorization, (ii) the sum total of fractions of whole oocytes that were developing, (iii) the sum of resorbing portions of oocytes, (iv) the total of ii and iii, (v) the number of fully developed oocytes that were ready to be laid. The shape of the pollen balls constructed by H. ligatus females depends upon the sex and caste that the provision mass will produce -- larvae (Chandler 1955; Michener and Bennett 1977). Thus, male-producing T m - r prepupae pollen balls are small, slightly flattened spheres. Gyne-producing pollen balls are elongate and saddle shaped, and have a shallow depression on the dorsal surface to receive the egg. Worker pollen balls are like those of males, but slightly larger. In practice, it is not possible to distinguish male- and worker-producing provision masses on shape and size alone; however, they are produced at different times of year. Estimates of nest age were made by counting the 1st day that pollen collection was observed in any nest as day 1 and numbering from there. Data from nest excavations were lumped together into 10-day periods for analysis. Categories range from 1 to 9, although an additional male sample was excavated on day 116. r -a *male The number of nests excavated in each time period is shown at the bottom of Fig. 1. Nests were excavated from at least three different portions of the study aggregation within each 10-day time period. Several adjacent nests were excavated from each portion. These methods avoided bias in the choice of nests excavated within individual time periods. Results Description of colony cycle The bees awake from hibernal diapause in late April or during May. However, they do not leave their overwintering burrows Head width until late May or early June. During warm, sunny days in late T (mm) May, the gynes that have overwintered may fly to flowers and For personal use only. feed upon nectar and pollen. They establish new nests at this time or return to their natal burrows and refurbish them. Few bees are active on any given day during this period and, as a result, few observations were made. The first pollen-foraging trips were observed on June 6 in 1983 and June 3 in 1984. Haplometrotic nests were active daily for a period of about 2 weeks and then opened only intermit- tently until the emergence of the first workers. However, some gynes provisioned one or more cells just before the emergence queen survival -b -a queen head width of the first workers. This resulted in a wide range of develop- - mental stages in some nests excavated just before first worker emergence. Three nests excavated on July 19, when most nests Can. J. Zool. Downloaded from www.nrcresearchpress.com by YORK UNIV on 02/13/16 had active workers, contained only the queen, some cells with I width mouldy contents, and two, three, and four recently provisioned I I (mm) pollen balls with eggs.
Recommended publications
  • Unique Bee Communities Within Vacant Lots and Urban Farms Result from Variation in Surrounding Urbanization Intensity
    sustainability Article Unique Bee Communities within Vacant Lots and Urban Farms Result from Variation in Surrounding Urbanization Intensity Frances S. Sivakoff ID , Scott P. Prajzner and Mary M. Gardiner * ID Department of Entomology, The Ohio State University, 2021 Coffey Road, Columbus, OH 43210, USA; [email protected] (F.S.S.); [email protected] (S.P.P.) * Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +1-330-601-6628 Received: 1 May 2018; Accepted: 5 June 2018; Published: 8 June 2018 Abstract: We investigated the relative importance of vacant lot and urban farm habitat features and their surrounding landscape context on bee community richness, abundance, composition, and resource use patterns. Three years of pan trap collections from 16 sites yielded a rich assemblage of bees from vacant lots and urban farms, with 98 species documented. We collected a greater bee abundance from vacant lots, and the two forms of greenspace supported significantly different bee communities. Plant–pollinator networks constructed from floral visitation observations revealed that, while the average number of bees utilizing available resources, niche breadth, and niche overlap were similar, the composition of floral resources and common foragers varied by habitat type. Finally, we found that the proportion of impervious surface and number of greenspace patches in the surrounding landscape strongly influenced bee assemblages. At a local scale (100 m radius), patch isolation appeared to limit colonization of vacant lots and urban farms. However, at a larger landscape scale (1000 m radius), increasing urbanization resulted in a greater concentration of bees utilizing vacant lots and urban farms, illustrating that maintaining greenspaces provides important habitat, even within highly developed landscapes.
    [Show full text]
  • Phylogeny of the Bee Genus Halictus (Hymenoptera: Halictidae) Based on Parsimony and Likelihood Analyses of Nuclear EF-1A Sequen
    Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution Vol. 13, No. 3, December, pp. 605–618, 1999 Article ID mpev.1999.0670, available online at http://www.idealibrary.com on Phylogeny of the Bee Genus Halictus (Hymenoptera: Halictidae) Based on Parsimony and Likelihood Analyses of Nuclear EF-1␣ Sequence Data Bryan N. Danforth,* Herve´ Sauquet,† and Laurence Packer‡ *Department of Entomology, Cornell University, Comstock Hall, Ithaca, New York 14853-0901; †c/o Dr. A. Le Thomas, E.P.H.E., Laboratoire de Biologie et Evolution des Plantes vasculaires, Museum National d’Histoire, Naturelle, 16, rue Buffon, 75005 Paris, France; and ‡Department of Biology and Faculty of Environmental Studies, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, Ontario, M3J 1P3, Canada Received December 23, 1998; revised April 8, 1999 INTRODUCTION We investigated higher-level phylogenetic relation- ships within the genus Halictus based on parsimony Halictid bees (Halictidae) are model organisms for and maximum likelihood (ML) analysis of elongation studying the evolution of social behavior in insects. Of factor-1␣ DNA sequence data. Our data set includes 41 all the bees, this family includes the greatest number of OTUs representing 35 species of halictine bees from a eusocial species and shows the greatest intra- and diverse sample of outgroup genera and from the three interspecific variability in social behavior (Michener, widely recognized subgenera of Halictus (Halictus s.s., 1974). Within the halictid subfamily Halictinae there Seladonia, and Vestitohalictus). We analyzed 1513 total are seven genera and subgenera that include all or aligned nucleotide sites spanning three exons and two some eusocial species: Halictus (Halictus), Halictus introns. Equal-weights parsimony analysis of the over- (Seladonia), Lasioglossum (Evylaeus), Lasioglossum all data set yielded 144 equally parsimonious trees.
    [Show full text]
  • Size Clines but Not Saw Tooth Clines in Sweat Bees: Season Length, Body Size A
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Open Research Exeter Ecological Entomology (2017), DOI: 10.1111/een.12448 Season length, body size, and social polymorphism: size clines but not saw tooth clines in sweat bees PAUL J. DAVISON∗ andJEREMY FIELD∗ School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, U.K. Abstract. 1. Annual insects are predicted to grow larger where the growing season is longer. However, transitions from one to two generations per year can occur when the season becomes sufficiently long, and are predicted to result in a sharp decrease inbody size because available development time is halved. The potential for resulting saw-tooth clines has been investigated only in solitary taxa with free-living larvae. 2. Size clines were investigated in two socially polymorphic sweat bees (Halictidae): transitions between solitary and social nesting occur along gradients of increasing season length, characterised by the absence or presence of workers and offspring that are individually mass provisioned by adults. How the body size changes with season length was examined, and whether transitions in social phenotype generate saw-tooth size clines. We measured Lasioglossum calceatum and Halictus rubicundus nest foundresses originating from more than 1000 km of latitude, encompassing the transition between social and solitary nesting. 3. Using satellite-collected temperature data to estimate season length, it was shown that both species were largest where the season was longest. Body size increased linearly with season length in L. calceatum and non-linearly in H. rubicundus but the existence of saw-tooth clines was not supported.
    [Show full text]
  • Social Polymorphism in the Sweat Bee Lasioglossum (Evylaeus) Baleicum (Cockerell) (Hymenoptera, Halictidae) in Hokkaido, Northern Japan
    Insect. Soc. 50 (2003) 379–386 0020-1812/03/040379-08 Insectes Sociaux DOI 10.1007/s00040-003-0693-1 © Birkhäuser Verlag, Basel, 2003 Research article Social polymorphism in the sweat bee Lasioglossum (Evylaeus) baleicum (Cockerell) (Hymenoptera, Halictidae) in Hokkaido, northern Japan A.L. Cronin 1 and M. Hirata 2 1 Department of Biology, University College London, Wolfson House, 4 Stephenson Way, London NW1 2HE, UK, e-mail: [email protected] 2 Graduate School of Environmental Earth Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-0810, Japan Received 2 April 2002; revised 2 October 2002 and 9 June 2003; accepted 19 June 2003. Summary. The life cycle and social behaviour of the sweat Danforth, 1997). Eusociality has arisen three times in halic- bee Lasioglossum (Evylaeus) baleicum (Cockerell) was tid bees, with up to twelve reversions to solitary behaviour investigated in two geographically separate populations in and sociality can exhibit a wide diversity within closely relat- Hokkaido, northern Japan. Colonies were excavated ed species (Packer, 1991, 1997; Danforth, 2002). Eusociality throughout the brood rearing season from an aggregation in is predominantly facultative (except at least in Lasioglossum Nishioka forest park, Sapporo, and near Kawakita in eastern (Evylaeus) malachurum Richards, 2000; Paxton et al., 2002) Hokkaido during 2000 and 2001. The Nishioka population and may occur as delayed eusociality (where matrifilial asso- produced two discrete broods during the year and was weak- ciations arise after a period of overwintering, usually in ly eusocial; 57% of workers were mated and 28% exhibited singly-brooded populations) or non-delayed eusociality some ovarian development, 12–16% of the first brood was (where mother-daughter associations arise in the same year), male, and workers were on average 4.5% smaller than their and communal and semisocial species are known (Packer, respective queen.
    [Show full text]
  • Floral Visitors of Helianthus Verticillatus, a Rare Sunflower Species in the Southeastern United States
    University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Masters Theses Graduate School 8-2019 Floral visitors of Helianthus verticillatus, a rare sunflower species in the southeastern United States Nicolas C. Strange University of Tennessee Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes Recommended Citation Strange, Nicolas C., "Floral visitors of Helianthus verticillatus, a rare sunflower species in the southeastern United States. " Master's Thesis, University of Tennessee, 2019. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/5489 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a thesis written by Nicolas C. Strange entitled "Floral visitors of Helianthus verticillatus, a rare sunflower species in the southeastern United States." I have examined the final electronic copy of this thesis for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree of Master of Science, with a major in Entomology and Plant Pathology. Robert N. Trigiano, Major Professor We have read this thesis and recommend its acceptance: William Klingeman, Ernest Bernard, Feng Chen Accepted for the Council: Dixie L. Thompson Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official studentecor r ds.) Floral visitors of Helianthus verticillatus, a rare sunflower species in the southeastern United States A Thesis Presented for the Master of Science Degree The University of Tennessee, Knoxville Nicolas C.
    [Show full text]
  • Poster Template
    Comparison of current and historic wild bee body length, head width, and intertegular distances Michelle Vohs, Daniel Cariveau Department of Entomology, College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences University of Minnesota- Twin Cities Introduction Measuring Methods Conclusions Bees are hyperdiverse taxa with over 20,000 An Olympus SZX16 microscope was used alongside with its 5MP DP27 camera to accurately measure the The results from the one sample t-tests indicated species globally. Across species, bees vary in size head width, body length, and intertegular distances of the bees in micrometers, which were converted to the changes of body lengths, head widths, and from the 2mm in length (Leurotrigon muelleriI) to 38 millimeters in the results section. Digital measurements were made using CellSens Standard software. Head intertegular distances overall for these bees were not mm (Megachile pluto). Within species, individuals may width was defined as the widest part of the head when viewed from above with the microscope. Body length statistically significant. As the p-values were greater also vary in size. Body size can have profound effects was determined using the polyline tool measuring through the middle of the bee’s side profile. Intertegular than 0.05, we could not reject the null hypothesis that on fitness as it may influence a bee’s ability to obtain distance was measured from the center near the inner edge of the wing bases. Over 300 bees were individually bee body sizes do not change over time. The mean floral rewards, regulate body temperature, and forage measured within the seven species listed.
    [Show full text]
  • Nordic Society Oikos
    Nordic Society Oikos The Socioecology of Body Size Variation in the Primitively Eusocial Sweat Bee, Halictus ligatus ( Hymenoptera: Halictidae) Author(s): Miriam H. Richards and Laurence Packer Source: Oikos, Vol. 77, No. 1 (Oct., 1996), pp. 68-76 Published by: Wiley on behalf of Nordic Society Oikos Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3545586 Accessed: 14-02-2016 03:43 UTC REFERENCES Linked references are available on JSTOR for this article: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3545586?seq=1&cid=pdf-reference#references_tab_contents You may need to log in to JSTOR to access the linked references. Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/ info/about/policies/terms.jsp JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Nordic Society Oikos and Wiley are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Oikos. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 130.63.180.147 on Sun, 14 Feb 2016 03:43:15 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions OlKOS 77: 68-76. Copenhagen1996 The socioecologyof bodysize variationin theprimitively eusocial sweatbee, Halictusligatus (Hymenoptera: Halictidae) Miriam H. Richardsand LaurencePacker Richards,M. H. and Packer,L. 1996. The socioecologyof body size variationin the primitivelyeusocial sweat bee, Halictus ligatus(Hymenoptera: Halictidae).
    [Show full text]
  • USFWS Consultation on Transmission System Right-Of-Way Program
    United States Department of the Interior FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE Tennessee ES Office 446 Neal Street Cookeville, Tennessee 38501 December 18, 2018 Mr. John T. Baxter Manager, Biological Compliance Tennessee Valley Authority 400 West Summit Hill Drive Knoxville, TN 37902 Re: FWS #2018-F-0958; Programmatic Consultation for Right-of-Way Vegetation Management that May Affect Endangered or Threatened Plants in the Tennessee Valley Authority Service Area Dear Mr. Baxter: This letter acknowledges the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (Service) November 21, 2018, receipt of your November 19, 2015, letter requesting initiation of formal section 7 consultation under the Endangered Species Act (Act). The consultation concerns the possible effects of your proposed Programmatic Strategy for Right-of-Way Vegetation Management that May Affect Endangered or Threatened Plants in the Tennessee Valley Authority Service Area (TVA) (the Proposed Action) on 18 federally listed plants, including: • Price's potato-bean (Apios priceana) • Braun's rock-cress (Arabis perstellata) • Pyne's ground plum (Astragalus bibullatus) • Morefield's leather-flower (Clematis morefieldii) • Alabama leather flower (Clematis socialis) • leafy prairie-clover (Dalea foliosa) • whorled sunflower (Helianthus verticillatus) • small whorled pogonia (Isotria medeoloides) • fleshy-fruit gladecress (Leavenworthia crassa) • lyre-leaf bladderpod (Lesquerella lyrata) • Spring Creek bladderpod (Lesquerella perforata) • Mohr's Barbara's buttons (Marshallia mohrii) • Cumberland sandwort (Minuartia cumberlandensis) • Short’s bladderpod (Physaria globosa) • white fringeless orchid (Platanthera integrilabia) • green pitcher plant (Sarracenia oreophila) • large-flowered skullcap (Scutellaria montana) • Tennessee yellow-eyed grass (Xyris tennesseensis) Listed species (LE=listed as endangered; LT=listed as threatened) and designated critical habitats (DCH) that TVA has determined the proposed Action is not likely to adversely affect (NLAA).
    [Show full text]
  • Fleshy-Fruit
    Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 149 / Friday, August 2, 2013 / Proposed Rules 47109 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR as form letters), our preferred format is respective ranges due to threats related a spreadsheet in Microsoft Excel. to: Fish and Wildlife Service (2) By hard copy: Submit by U.S. mail • For Short’s bladderpod, potential or hand-delivery to: Public Comments future construction and ongoing 50 CFR Part 17 Processing, Attn: FWS–R4–ES–2013– maintenance of transportation rights-of- [Docket No. FWS–R4–ES–2013–0087; 0087; Division of Policy and Directives way; prolonged inundation and soil 4500030113] Management; U.S. Fish and Wildlife erosion due to flooding and water level Service; 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, MS manipulation; overstory shading due to RIN 1018–AZ11 2042–PDM; Arlington, VA 22203. forest succession and shading and We request that you send comments Endangered and Threatened Wildlife competition from invasive, nonnative only by the methods described above. and Plants; Endangered Status for plant species; and small population We will post all information received on Physaria globosa (Short’s bladderpod), sizes. http://www.regulations.gov. This • Helianthus verticillatus (whorled For whorled sunflower, mechanical generally means that we will post any sunflower), and Leavenworthia crassa or chemical vegetation management for personal information you provide us (fleshy-fruit gladecress) industrial forestry, right-of-way (see the Information Requested section maintenance, or agriculture; shading AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, below for more details). and competition resulting from Interior. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: vegetation succession; limited ACTION: Proposed rule. Mary E. Jennings, Field Supervisor, U.S. distribution and small population sizes.
    [Show full text]
  • Bees of Northwestern America: Halictus (Hymenoptera : Halictidae)
    Bees of Northwestern America: HALICTUS (Hymenoptera: Halictidae) 1913 Technical Bulletin 126 AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION Oregon State University Corvallis, Oregon June 1973 Contents Introduction-------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3 Generic Diagnosis-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4 Key to theHalictus Species of the Pacific Northwest---------------------------------------------- 5 Halictus (Halictus) farinosus Smith---------------------------------------------------------------------- 8 Halictus (Halictus) ligatusSay------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 8 Halictus (Halictus) rubicundus (Christ)------------------------------------------------------------ 9 Halictus (Seladonia) confusus Smith-----------------_-------------------------------------------------10 Halictus (Seladonia) tripartitus Cockerell--------------------------------------------------------------10 Halictus (Seladonia) virgatellus Cockerell------------------------------------ 11 Biology of Halictus -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------12 Nest site------------------------------------------------------------------ -----------------------------------12 Nest architecture-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------13 Life history ------------------------ ---- 16 Sociality ------------------------------
    [Show full text]
  • Observer Cards—Bees
    Observer Cards Bees Bees Jessica Rykken, PhD, Farrell Lab, Harvard University Edited by Jeff Holmes, PhD, EOL, Harvard University Supported by the Encyclopedia of Life www.eol.org and the National Park Service About Observer Cards EOL Observer Cards Observer cards are designed to foster the art and science of observing nature. Each set provides information about key traits and techniques necessary to make accurate and useful scientific observations. The cards are not designed to identify species but rather to encourage detailed observations. Take a journal or notebook along with you on your next nature walk and use these cards to guide your explorations. Observing Bees There are approximately 20,000 described species of bees living on all continents except Antarctica. Bees play an essential role in natural ecosystems by pollinating wild plants, and in agricultural systems by pollinating cultivated crops. Most people are familiar with honey bees and bumble bees, but these make up just a tiny component of a vast bee fauna. Use these cards to help you focus on the key traits and behaviors that make different bee species unique. Drawings and photographs are a great way to supplement your field notes as you explore the tiny world of these amazing animals. Cover Image: Bombus sp., © Christine Majul via Flickr Author: Jessica Rykken, PhD. Editor: Jeff Holmes, PhD. More information at: eol.org Content Licensed Under a Creative Commons License Bee Families Family Name # Species Spheciformes Colletidae 2500 (Spheciform wasps: Widespread hunt prey) 21 Bees Stenotritidae Australia only Halictidae 4300 Apoidea Widespread (Superfamily Andrenidae 2900 within the order Widespread Hymenoptera) (except Australia) Megachilidae 4000 Widespread Anthophila (Bees: vegetarian) Apidae 5700 Widespread May not be a valid group Melittidae 200 www.eol.org Old and New World (Absent from S.
    [Show full text]
  • Maritime Northwest Citizen Science Monitoring Guide
    MARITIME NORTHWEST CITIZEN SCIENCE MONITORING GUIDE NATIVE BEES & BUTTERFLIES The Xerces® Society for Invertebrate Conservation is a nonprofit organization that protects wildlife through the conservation of invertebrates and their habitat. Established in 1971, the Society is at the forefront of invertebrate protection, harnessing the knowledge of scientists and the enthusiasm of citizens to implement conservation programs worldwide. The Society uses advocacy, education, habitat restoration, consulting, and applied research to promote invertebrate conservation. The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation 628 NE Broadway, Suite 200, Portland, OR 97232 Tel (855) 232-6639 Fax (503) 233-6794 www.xerces.org Regional offices in California, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, Texas, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin © 2016 by The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation The Xerces Society is an equal opportunity employer and provider. Xerces® is a trademark registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Authors: Ashley Minnerath, Mace Vaughan, and Eric Lee-Mäder, The Xerces Society for Invertabrate Conservation. Editing and layout: Sara Morris, The Xerces Society for Invertabrate Conservation. Acknowledgements This guide was adapted from the California Pollinator Project Citizen Scientist Pollinator Monitoring Guide by Katharina Ullmann, Mace Vaughan, Claire Kremen, Tiffany Shih, and Matthew Shepherd. Funding for the development of this guide was provided by the Port of Portland and the USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service. Additional funding for the Xerces Society’s pollinator conservation program has been provided by Ceres Foundation, CS Fund, Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund, Endangered Species Chocolate, Turner Foundation, Whole Foods Market and their vendors, and Xerces Society members. We are grateful to the many photographers who allowed us to use their wonderful photographs in this monitoring guide.
    [Show full text]