The potential management of a ground-nesting, solitary bee: Anthophora abrupta (Hymenoptera: Apidae)
Keywords:
chimney bee, artificial nest, miner beeAbstract
In Apr 2010, Anthophora abrupta (Say) (Hymenoptera: Apidae) was discovered nesting in open bags of colloidal clay in Gainesville, Florida, USA, in an open-air shed. Label data from A. abrupta specimens in the Hymenoptera holdings of the Florida State Collection of Arthropods indicated that no specimen had been collected previously from Alachua County and that the most recent Floridian specimen was collected in 1987. This suggests that A. abrupta may be locally rare and possibly in decline or threatened regionally. Many of the plants that A. abrupta is reported to visit are listed as threatened or endangered in 1 or more states. In an effort to study the potential management and conservation of this species, the original nest aggregation was split in 2012 and 2013, and the splits were moved to new nest sites to see if they would establish at the new sites. Both mother and daughter nest aggregations were monitored in Spring of 2012–2014. Herein, a brief review of A. abrupta natural history, an account of the attempts to split the aggregations for new nest establishment, and suggestions for the potential management of this beneficial insect are discussed.
Resumen
En abril 2010, Anthophora abrupta (Say) (Hymenoptera: Apidae) fue descubierto haciendo nidos en bolsas abiertas de arcilla coloidal en Gainesville, Florida, en un cobertizo al aire libre. Los datos de las etiquetas de los especímenes de A. abrupta en la Sección de Himenóptera de la Colección de Artrópodos del Estado de Florida indicaron que ningún ejemplar fue recolectado previamente en el Condado de Alachua y que el espécimen más reciente recolectado en la Florida fue en 1987. Esto sugiere que la occurencia de A. abrupta puede ser rara localmente y posiblemente en declive o amenazada regionalmente. Muchas de las plantas que son reportadas que A. abrupta visita estan alistadas como en peligro amenazadas de extinción en uno o más estados. En un esfuerzo por estudiar el manejo potencial y la conservación de esta especie, la agregación del nido original se dividió en el 2012 y el 2013 y las divisiones fueron trasladadas a nuevos sitios para anidación para ver si se establecían en los nuevos sitios. Las agregaciones de nidos madre e de hija fueron monitoreados en la primavera del 2012–2014. Aquí, se discute una breve reseña de la historia natural de A. abrupta,se describe los intentos de divición de las agregaciones para el nuevo establecimiento de nidos y sugerencias para el manejo potencial de este insecto beneficioso.
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