Exoneura

Exoneura
Exoneura richardsoni
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Apidae
Tribe:	Allodapini
Genus:	Exoneura Smith, 1854

Exoneura is a genus of some 68 species of social bees, also known as reed bees, belonging to the taxonomic family Apidae and tribe Allodapini. ^[1] The genus is native to Australia. ^[1] Its species may be parasitised by members of the subgenus Inquilina , a relationship that has existed for about 15 million years. ^[2]

Description

The bees have glossy black heads and thoraxes with black or red-orange abdomens. They are generally about 8 mm in length. ^[3]

Behaviour

These bees dig and occupy small nesting burrows within the pithy stems of plants, in which two or more adults may be found. They provision them with pollen and nectar on which they lay their eggs. The nest may contain many young at different stages of development. ^[4]

The genus exhibits notable behavioural plasticity. Environmental factors that impact behaviour include nesting substrate, predation, parasitisation and resource availability. ^[5] Substrate preferences have been shown to create localised nest aggregations. These affect behaviour such as task specialisation, ^{[5] [6]} which may be expressed altruistically as guarding behaviour. ^{[6] [7]}

Species

See: List of Exoneura species

References

1. "Exoneura Smith, 1854". www.gbif.org. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
2. Shokri Bousjein, Nahid; Tierney, Simon M.; Gardner, Michael G.; Schwarz, Michael P. (February 2022). "Does effective population size affect rates of molecular evolution: Mitochondrial data for host/parasite species pairs in bees suggests not". Ecology and Evolution. 12 (2) e8562. Bibcode:2022EcoEv..12E8562S. doi:10.1002/ece3.8562. ISSN   2045-7758. PMC   8820120 . PMID   35154650.
3. "Reed Bees (Exoneura)". www.aussiebee.com.au. Retrieved 2023-11-10.
4. "Exoneura species, f, australia, side | U.S. Geological Survey". www.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2023-11-10.
5. Silberbauer, L. X.; Schwarz, M. P. (June 1995). "Life cycle and social behavior in a heathland population of the allodapine bee,Exoneura bicolor (Hymenoptera: Apidae)" . Insectes Sociaux. 42 (2): 201–218. doi:10.1007/BF01242455. ISSN   0020-1812.
6. Schwarz, Michael P. (December 1987). "Intra-colony relatedness and sociality in the allodapine bee Exoneura bicolor" . Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. 21 (6): 387–392. Bibcode:1987BEcoS..21..387S. doi:10.1007/BF00299933. ISSN   0340-5443.
7. Melna, P. A.; Schwarz, M. P. (March 1994). "Behavioural specialization in pre-reproductive colonies of the allodapine beeExoneura bicolor (Hymenoptera: Anthophoridae)" . Insectes Sociaux. 41 (1): 1–18. doi:10.1007/BF01240569. ISSN   0020-1812.