Food niche of Exomalopsis (Exomalopsis) fulvofasciata Smith (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in Brazilian savannah: the importance of oil-producing plant species as pollen sources |
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| Authors: | Laíce Souza Rabelo Esther Margarida Alves Ferreira Bastos |
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| Institution: | 1. Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal de Uberlandia, Uberlandia, Minas Gerais, Brazil;2. Diretoria de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento, Laboratório de Recursos Vegetais e Opoterápicos, Funda??o Ezequiel Dias, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil |
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| Abstract: | Exomalopsis are ground-nesting species, and their food-niche breadth is little known due the difficulty in locating the nests and finding efficient bait plants to attract these bees. Some species of Exomalopsis were recorded as tomato, hot pepper and eggplant pollinators. Information about the food niche could be useful to increase Exomalopsis populations, providing consistent and comparable data for the enrichment of natural and crop areas with adequate plant sources. This study aimed to determine the food niche and the role of pollen size in the diet of E. fulvofasciata. We analysed pollen loads of 28 individuals of E. fulvofasciata collected from bait plants, in two natural areas of the Brazilian savannah. Only five pollen types belonging to the families Malpighiaceae, Solanaceae, Leguminosae, Myrtaceae and Lythraceae were important for this species. This result indicates that E. fulvofasciata is probably a polylectic species. However, we noticed that the Byrsonima used as bait plants contribute significantly for its larval provision, indicating that small pollen grains were more frequently collected. |
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| Keywords: | Solitary bees pollen analyses anther type pollen size |
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