Pinilla-Gallego Mario Simon, Nieto Valentina, Nates-Parra Guiomar
Rev Biol Trop. 2016 Sep;64(3):1247-57.
Thygater aethiops is a native bee that can be found in parks and gardens in diverse urban areas such as those in the city of Bogotá (Colombia). However, little is known about its biology as well as ecological adaptations to urban areas. This study aimed to describe the seasonal cycle and daily foraging activities of T. aethiops, as well as identify the pollen resources used by this bee over a year in a population nesting in an aggregation in the “Parque Nacional Enrique Olaya Herrera” in Bogotá. Changes in the nest activity were monitored weekly by counting the number of active nests in the aggregation between December/2012 and February/2014. To determine the daily foraging activity, the numbers of bees entering their nests over a period of 10 minutes every hour between 8:00 and 14:00 h were recorded. Females with pollen loads entering to their nest were captured weekly, between September/2012 and August/2013, and their pollen loads analyzed. Three nesting peaks occurred after the precipitation peaks, but the number of active nests was not correlated with precipitation. The nesting activities stopped in a large number of the active nests (20-50 % of nests) after an anthropic disturbance was registered in the nesting area. Bees forage for nectar and pollen between 8:00 and 14:00 h, with a peak at 10:00 h. Daily foraging activity changed during the study period due to anthropic disturbance. There was not a significant relationship between air temperature and the number of females entering their nests. Foraging activities did not change between the dry and rainy seasons. A total of 26 pollen types were found in 169 pollen loads. Ulex europaeus (Fabaceae) and Solanum laxum (Solanaceae) were the most abundant plants represented on the pollen load across the study period. According to these results, T. aethiops would be considered a mesolectic species. The ability of T. aethiops to use different pollen resources both native and exotic, as well as to presumably recover its population after disturbances, are characteristics that may have allowed this bee to adapt to urban environments. Knowledge on the floral resources as well as other biological features of this bee species is important to promote its conservation in urban areas.
埃塞俄比亚隧蜂是一种本地蜜蜂，在诸如波哥大市（哥伦比亚）等不同城市地区的公园和花园中都能找到。然而，人们对其生物学特性以及对城市地区的生态适应性知之甚少。本研究旨在描述埃塞俄比亚隧蜂的季节性周期和每日觅食活动，并确定在波哥大“恩里克·奥拉亚·埃雷拉国家公园”聚集筑巢的一群该蜂种在一年中所利用的花粉资源。在2012年12月至2014年2月期间，通过统计聚集处活跃巢穴的数量，每周监测巢穴活动的变化。为了确定每日觅食活动，记录了8:00至14:00每小时10分钟内进入巢穴的蜜蜂数量。在2012年9月至2013年8月期间，每周捕获携带花粉进入巢穴的雌蜂，并对其花粉负载进行分析。三次筑巢高峰出现在降水高峰之后，但活跃巢穴的数量与降水量并无关联。在筑巢区域记录到人为干扰后，大量活跃巢穴（20%-50%的巢穴）停止了筑巢活动。蜜蜂在8:00至14:00觅食花蜜和花粉，10:00出现峰值。在研究期间，由于人为干扰，每日觅食活动发生了变化。气温与进入巢穴的雌蜂数量之间没有显著关系。旱季和雨季的觅食活动没有变化。在169份花粉负载中总共发现了26种花粉类型。在整个研究期间，花粉负载上代表最多的植物是欧洲荆豆（豆科）和疏花茄（茄科）。根据这些结果，埃塞俄比亚隧蜂可被视为一种寡食性物种。埃塞俄比亚隧蜂利用本地和外来不同花粉资源的能力，以及在干扰后可能恢复其种群数量的能力，是使其能够适应城市环境的特征。了解该蜂种的花卉资源以及其他生物学特性对于促进其在城市地区的保护至关重要。
