Bee Life in the City: an Analysis of the Pollen Provisions of Centris (Centris) flavifrons (Centridini) in an Urban Area

Authors

  • Marcos Costa Dorea Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana
  • Francisco de Assis Ribeiro dos Santos Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana
  • Cândida Maria Lima Aguiar Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana
  • Celso Feitosa Martins Universidade Federal da Paraíba

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.13102/sociobiology.v64i2.1277

Keywords:

oil-collecting bees, trophic niche, diet, pollinators, oil-flowers

Abstract

Due to deforestation and fragmentation of ecosystems, the management of bee populations targeting pollination services is increasingly urgent. Because urban environments are stressful, the dietary knowledge in such areas can help to cope with this issue in the near future. Using palynological analysis the floral resources used by Centris flavifrons, an important pollinator of crops and native plants was studied in an urban area. Byrsonima sericea type, Solanum paniculatum type, Cestrum type, and Myrcia type 1 together accounted for more than 93% of pollen grains foraged by females. It is noteworthy that this bee population depends on few plant species both for pollen and for oil. Furthermore, females showed flexibility to replace the primary pollen source in different breeding seasons, as well as one female could provision different cells in the same nest with different predominant pollen types. It is highlighted the importance of wastelands for keeping bee populations in urban areas.

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Author Biographies

Marcos Costa Dorea, Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana

Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Laboratório de Micromorfologia Vegetal

Francisco de Assis Ribeiro dos Santos, Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana

Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Laboratório de Micromorfologia Vegetal

Cândida Maria Lima Aguiar, Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana

Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, laboratório de Entomologia

Celso Feitosa Martins, Universidade Federal da Paraíba

Departamento de Sistemática e Ecologia

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Published

2017-09-21

How to Cite

Dorea, M. C., Santos, F. de A. R. dos, Aguiar, C. M. L., & Martins, C. F. (2017). Bee Life in the City: an Analysis of the Pollen Provisions of Centris (Centris) flavifrons (Centridini) in an Urban Area. Sociobiology, 64(2), 166–173. https://doi.org/10.13102/sociobiology.v64i2.1277

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Section

Research Article - Bees

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