Epeolus cruciger | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Hymenoptera |
Family: | Apidae |
Genus: | Epeolus |
Species: | E. cruciger |
Binomial name | |
Epeolus cruciger (Panzer, 1799) | |
Synonyms [2] | |
Epeolus cruciger, the red-thighed epeolus, is a species of cuckoo bee from the family Apidae. It is endemic to Europe, where its main host is the common colletes ( Colletes succintus ), although other species of Colletes mining bees have been recorded as hosts.
Epeolus cruciger is a small bee in which the females have a reddish scutellum and tend to have entirely red legs. The fifth sternite is straight when viewed from the side and from below it is noticeably wider than it is long. The abdomen is nearly completely reddish. The males have a dark scutellum (scutellum dark) usually have a reddish pygidium. [3] The abdomen is black with large, paired whitish patches of flattened hair [4] on each side. They are 6-8mm in length. [5]
Epeolus cruciger is found in southern and central Europe as far north as Finland [5] and is thought to be endemic to Europe. [1] In Britain it is widespread in the southern part but becomes scarcer in the north, with one old unconfirmed record. [6] and a more recent confirmed record in Scotland, both from Ayrshire. [7] It is absent from Ireland. [6] In the Netherlands it is found in the coastal dune systems while a population in the Delft estuary which was recorded for the first time in 2006 proved to be temporary and subsequently died out. [8] However, in Belgium, there have been records of E. cruciger at least since the 1950s. [9]
Epeolus cruciger is found in inland heaths, moorland, dunes systems, sandpits and undercliffs. [5] [6] Its main host Colletes succintus uses ling ( Calluna vulgaris ) as its principal food plant, so this shrub is an important element in the habitat for E. cruciger. [1]
Epeolus cruciger is univoltine with a flight period from the end of June to late September. [6] It is a cleptoparasite on the nests of Colletes succintus, although other hosts in the genus Colletes have been recorded, but these have not been confirmed. [5] The adults have been recorded foraging for nectar on the flowers of clover ( Trifolium spp.), hawkbits ( Leontodon sp.), ling (Calluna vulgaris), mint ( Mentha ), ragwort ( Senecio jacobaea ), sheep's-bit ( Jasione montana ), tansy ( Tanacetum vulgare ). [5] [6] There are no records of parasites or predators for E. cruciger. [6]
Epeolus cruciger is classified as near threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature [1] but in Britain it is not regarded as rare or threatened [6] and in the Netherlands it is regarded as not threatened with a stable population. [8] but in Germany it is on the national red list as Category V. [5]
Epeolus cruciger may be a lot of species with a distinct population which has an earlier flight period and is smaller in size, which utilises Colletes marginatus as a host, which may be a species in its own right, Epeolus marginatus. [6] There is also a population in northern Italy which uses the ivy bee Colletes hederae , a species very closely related to C. succintus, as a host, and has remained restricted to what is thought to have been its glacial refuge, while its host has spread into other parts of Europe as far apart as southern England and Cyprus. [10]
Calluna vulgaris, common heather, ling, or simply heather, is the sole species in the genus Calluna in the flowering plant family Ericaceae. It is a low-growing evergreen shrub growing to 20 to 50 centimetres tall, or rarely to 1 metre (40 in) and taller, and is found widely in Europe and Asia Minor on acidic soils in open sunny situations and in moderate shade. It is the dominant plant in most heathland and moorland in Europe, and in some bog vegetation and acidic pine and oak woodland. It is tolerant of grazing and regenerates following occasional burning, and is often managed in nature reserves and grouse moors by sheep or cattle grazing, and also by light burning.
The genus Colletes is a large group of ground-nesting bees of the family Colletidae. They occur primarily in the Northern Hemisphere. They tend to be solitary, but sometimes nest close together in aggregations. Species in the genus build cells in underground nests that are lined with a cellophane-like plastic secretion, a true polyester, earning them the nickname polyester bees.
The northern colletes is a species of bee within the genus Colletes. Northern colletes are solitary bees, though females may nest in what are termed aggregations – sites where the bees nest close together, but do not form colonies as social bees do. They nest underground in soft soil, digging burrows up to 20 times their body length. It is often to be found nesting in coastal sand dunes and, on Hebridean islands, machair.
Bombus lapidarius is a species of bumblebee in the subgenus Melanobombus. Commonly known as the red-tailed bumblebee, B. lapidarius can be found throughout much of Central Europe. Known for its distinctive black and red body, this social bee is important in pollination.
Bombus campestris is a very common cuckoo bumblebee found in most of Europe.
Bombus variabilis is a critically endangered species of cuckoo bumblebee.
Lygus pratensis is a species of plant bug belonging to the family Miridae.
Colletes elegans a species of ground-nesting bee in the genus Colletes, which is found in Israel. It has been found that the species has a strong preference during pollination to plants in the family Resedaceae.
Colletes hederae, the ivy bee, is a species of plasterer bee belonging to the family Colletidae subfamily Colletinae.
Bombus ruderatus, the large garden bumblebee or ruderal bumblebee, is a species of long-tongued bumblebee found in Europe and in some parts of northern Africa. This species is the largest bumblebee in Britain and it uses its long face and tongue to pollinate hard-to-reach tubed flowers. Bumblebees are key pollinators in many agricultural ecosystems, which has led to B. ruderatus and other bumblebees being commercially bred and introduced into non-native countries, specifically New Zealand and Chile. Since its introduction in Chile, B. ruderatus has spread into Argentina as well. Population numbers have been declining and it has been placed on the Biodiversity Action Plan to help counteract these declines.
Sphecodopsis is a genus of cleptoparasitic cuckoo bees in the family Apidae. Endemic to southern Africa, the wasp-like bees of this genus are generally small, varying from 3.9 to 9 mm in length, and mostly black, with orange-ish or reddish colouring of the metasoma in some of the species. The bee genus Scrapter is recognised as a host for the cleptoparasitic life cycle of some Sphecodopsis, but further data regarding preferred hosts is not available for most of the species.
Mutilla europaea, the large velvet ant, is a species of parasitoid wasps belonging to the family Mutillidae. It is a parasitoid on various species of bumblebees and is found in Europe, Asia, and North Africa.
Colletes halophilus, the sea aster mining bee, is a rare species of mining bee from the family Colletidae which is found around the margins of saltmarsh and other coastal habitats in south-eastern England and north-western Europe. It is threatened by rising sea levels and human development which reduce its food plant sea aster and destroy its nesting areas.
Colletes succinctus, the common colletes or heather colletes, is a species of Palearctic mining bee from the family Colletidae. It is part of the succinctus species group within the genus Colletes and is especially closely related to the ivy bee and the sea aster mining bee which are partially sympatric with C. succinctus but ecologically separate.
Epeolus is a genus of cuckoo bees in the family Apidae. They are often known as variegated cuckoo-bees.
Stenoria analis, the ivy bee blister beetle, is a species of blister beetle from the family Meloidae which is found in western Europe and North Africa and is a specialist cleptoparasite of the ivy bee larvae. Its occurrence in regions outside of the known range of the ivy bee, for example in North Africa, suggest that it has other hosts.
Epeolus lectoides, the cuckoo bee, is a species of cuckoo bee in the family Apidae. It is found in North America. Hosts include Colletes latitarsis and Colletes nudus.
Colletes cunicularius, the vernal colletes or spring mining bee, is a species of solitary bee from the family Colletidae which is widespread in the Palearctic from Britain to the Pacific Ocean which nests in areas of open, sandy soil.
Colletes similis is a species of plasterer bee belonging to the family Colletidae, subfamily Colletinae.