McCabe Lindsie M, Boyle Natalie K, Scalici Morgan B, Pitts-Singer Theresa L
USDA-ARS Pollinating Insect Research Unit, Logan, UT, United States.
Department of Entomology, Center for Pollinator Research, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, United States.
PeerJ. 2021 Nov 2;9:e12344. doi: 10.7717/peerj.12344. eCollection 2021.
Metrics to assess relative adult bee body size have included both mass and morphometrics, but these metrics may not equally or reliably estimate body size for all bee species and in all situations, due to bee age, diet, and/or environment. Understanding the relationships between different metrics and possible redundancies in the information they afford is important but not always known. Body size measurements provide valuable data for interpreting research outcomes for managed solitary bees, including Say and F. (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae). Applied studies of these important and readily available U.S. crop pollinators focus on refining commercial management practices, and basic empirical studies in various scientific disciplines (from genomics to ecology) employ them as model systems to study solitary bees. To examine common metrics of body size, we measured head capsule width (HCW), intertegular distance (ITD), and fresh and dry weights of newly emerged adults of both species. Using linear and exponential models, we determined relationships between these body size metrics. For , linear models best described relationships between ITD and all other metrics, and between HCW and fresh and dry weights. For O. , linear models best fit relationships between all metrics except for fresh weight with both ITD and HCW, which were fitted better with exponential models. For both species, model fits were strongest when males and females were pooled. Depending on the study question, knowing that only one metric may reliably measure body size can simplify evaluations of and responses to artificial or environmental variables.
评估成年蜜蜂相对体型的指标包括体重和形态测量，但由于蜜蜂的年龄、饮食和/或环境因素，这些指标可能无法同等或可靠地估计所有蜜蜂物种在所有情况下的体型。了解不同指标之间的关系以及它们所提供信息中可能存在的冗余很重要，但并非总是为人所知。体型测量为解释独居蜜蜂的研究结果提供了有价值的数据，包括赛氏蜜蜂（学名：Osmia sayi）和苜蓿切叶蜂（学名：Megachile rotundata）（膜翅目：切叶蜂科）。对这些重要且易于获得的美国作物传粉者的应用研究侧重于完善商业管理实践，而各个科学学科（从基因组学到生态学）的基础实证研究则将它们用作研究独居蜜蜂的模型系统。为了研究体型的常见指标，我们测量了这两个物种新羽化成年个体的头壳宽度（HCW）、翅基间距（ITD）以及鲜重和干重。使用线性和指数模型，我们确定了这些体型指标之间的关系。对于赛氏蜜蜂，线性模型最能描述ITD与所有其他指标之间以及HCW与鲜重和干重之间的关系。对于苜蓿切叶蜂，线性模型最适合除鲜重与ITD和HCW之间的关系，这两者用指数模型拟合效果更好。对于这两个物种，当将雄性和雌性合并时，模型拟合效果最强。根据研究问题，知道只有一个指标可以可靠地测量体型，这可以简化对赛氏蜜蜂和苜蓿切叶蜂对人工或环境变量反应的评估。
