Leioproctus | |
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Leioproctus fulvescens, Otago, New Zealand | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Hymenoptera |
Family: | Colletidae |
Tribe: | Paracolletini |
Genus: | Leioproctus F. Smith, 1853 |
Type species | |
Leioproctus imitatus Smith, 1853 [1] |
Leioproctus, the hairy colletid bee, [2] is a genus in the plaster bee family Colletidae. Its members are primarily found in Australasia and temperate South America, [3] and include the most common native bees in New Zealand. [4]
Species within the genus Leioproctus are small, black, hairy bees ranging from 4 –16 mm. Most are less than 10mm, but the largest species Leioproctus Muelleri reach up to 16mm. [5] The legs and thorax are covered in hairs ranging from black to red to yellow to white, although hair colour typically fades with age. The dorsal surface of the abdomen is mostly hairless showing the shiny black cuticle underneath. The clypeus and supraclypeus are typically hairy while the forehead is often mostly hairless, likely to avoid interference with the ocelli. Supraclypeus is almost completely flat and is densely punctured throughout. [6]
Females can be distinguished from pollen clumps, carried externally on scopae. [6]
All their nutrients come directly or indirectly from pollen and nectar. Pollen is the main source of protein, required for growth, so it is consumed mostly during the larval stage, while nectar provides sugar, which provides the energy adults and larvae need throughout their life. [7]
Most species show medium degrees of specialisation for native flowering plants and trees. However, they multible species in New Zealand have been recorded visiting kiwifruit flowers, [6] [8] and agricultural studies have caught them in clover pastures and orchards. [9] This plasticity varies between species as some studies have shown to be more willing to feed from introduced species than others. [6] [8]
Leioproctus species show almost no territorial behaviours, and often nest and feed within close proximity of each other. They can show a range of distance and foraging time between individuals as well as species. Although a common theme to all species is that they typically nest close to a large food source (<10m) such as a large Leptospermum tree (Mānuka) which are common in New Zealand and east Australia. [10]
Most species are somewhat specialised often to a particular genus or family, which is beneficial to plants as specialised pollinators increases the likelihood of pollen being spread to the correct species. [11]
The males are relatively short lived and have little impact on pollination, but the females intentionally collect pollen by accumulating pollen in the hairs around the head and thorax while feeding on nectar before moving it to the scopae. [8] This morphology allows pollen to be more effectively spread between flowers than other potential pollinators such as other insects and birds. [12]
Leioproctus are particularly important pollinators for many endangered native plants, such as rare Proteas in Australia, many of which are strictly self-incompatible and rely on pollinators for survival. Multiple studies on Persoonia (geebungs) found that Leiproctus was the most common genus of pollinators at their study sites. [13] [14] Lots of these species live in dry woodlands on acidic sandy soils that are suited to Leioproctus as they are mining bees and can tolerate these harsh environments. [14]
In New Zealand, Leioproctus are the largest genus of bees and are the next most common after Apis and Bombus. Both these genera are more efficient than Leioproctus at pollinating but they prefer introduced species over natives, making Leioproctus and other native bees still vital to native forests. [15] Research has gone into using native bees for commercial pollination and found positive results and successful trials of nest removal and re-establishment. [16] Because they nest individually, they would be more resistant to spread of disease, like Varroa mites or AFB, which is of increasing interest in agriculture. [17]
The effect introduced bees have had on native plants and bees is still unclear, but some ecologists have concerns about the effect being negative.
Introduced honeybees have been recorded visiting many of the species previously associated with native bees. For most native plant species this is atypical and unintentional of beekeepers, but due to the high demand for Mānuka honey, Leioproctus bees are now seeing high competition in some places. Because domestic honeybees live in mobile hives, beekeepers can move these hives into high resource areas and then remove them once the nectar and pollen are depleted, forcing the sessile leioproctus bees to travel far distances to find resources. Although Leiproctus species feed from species other than Mānuka, many still rely on this food source to support them over the summer, so this increased competition could reduce leioproctus populations which could then affect the other native plants they pollinate. [18]
Leioproctus are solitary mining bees. They can tolerate a high range of substrate provided there is sufficient food resources nearby. This can range from forest undergrowth to roadside ditches to sandy costal banks to even currently occupied termite nests in at least one Australian species. [19] Leioproctus need warm temperatures (at least 15°C) before leaving their nest, typically waiting until the nest entrance is bathed in sun. Because of this, most nests face towards the north, or if in flat ground, will be well exposed to maximise heat absorption. [6]
They prefer dry ground and will often dig horizontal tunnels in banks and cliffs. Their nests are not lined with water repellent coatings, as seen in other bee nests, but nest architecture shows they can also make sink traps, potentially to prevent water from entering cells, suggesting they can tolerate wet environments. [20] This tolerance to wet conditions has been observed in multiple studies where as long as it was reasonably warm, bees would be seen, no matter the rainfall. [6]
Leioproctus are solitary, meaning all every female is fertile and creates their own nest for their young. [18]
Leioproctus overwinters as diapausing prepupae in cells before they pupate and begin appearing in spring or early summer. Males typically appear first closely followed by females. Immediately they mate and the females begin nest mining while the males continue breeding. The males soon die while the females finish their nests and start producing cells. Larvae require a lot of pollen and nectar to grow and survive to adulthood, and the females have a lot of environmental pressures, so most only make 10-30 cells in their 6-8 week adult lifetime, before perishing. After the eggs are laid, the larvae hatch around 72 hours later and consume all stored food over the next 10 days, then over the next few weeks become prepupae and diapause until the following spring. [6] [18]
Native New Zealand Leioproctus species primarily forages on the flowers of native species in the Myrtaceae family, such as Pōhutukawa (Metrosideros excelsa), Kānuka (Kunzea ericoides) and Mānuka (Leptospermum scoparium). But some species also show plasticity for introduced species, like certain fruit trees and pasture plants.
At least 18 species of Leioproctus can be found across New Zealand. [21]
Native Australian Leioproctus species forage on the flowers much wider range of native species such as Persoonia (geebungs) in Family Proteaceae [14] and many legumes such as Daviesia [20] and Acacia, [22] in Family Fabaceae. Mānuka and other Myrtaceae family flowering trees are also visted by some species.
More than 80 species of Leioproctus can be found across Australia. [23]
Research and information on Leioproctus species found in South America is seriously lacking. In New Zealand and Australia Leioproctus feed primarly on species within Family Proteaceae, Fabaceae and Myrtaceae. Between these three families there are over 3,000 species in South America, so Leioproctus feeding behaviour is likely similar to New Zealand and Australian species, although this cannot currently be confirmed. [24]
More than 60 species of Leioproctus can be found across South America. [25]
It includes the following species: [26]
Carpenter bees are species in the genus Xylocopa of the subfamily Xylocopinae. The genus includes some 500 bees in 31 subgenera. The common name "carpenter bee" derives from their nesting behavior; nearly all species burrow into hard plant material such as dead wood or bamboo. The main exceptions are species in the subgenus Proxylocopa, which dig nesting tunnels in suitable soil.
Hylaeus is a large and diverse cosmopolitan genus within the bee family Colletidae. This genus is also known as the yellow-faced bees or masked bees. This genus is the only truly globally distributed colletid, occurring on all continents except Antarctica.
Ptiloglossa is a small genus of bees within the family Colletidae, endemic to the Americas. Ptiloglossa is one of the most common nocturnal groups of colletids.
The Stenotritidae is the smallest of all formally recognised bee families, with only 21 species in two genera, all of them restricted to Australia. Historically, they were generally considered to belong in the family Colletidae, but the stenotritids are presently considered their sister taxon, and deserving of family status. Of prime importance is that the stenotritids have unmodified mouthparts, whereas colletids are separated from all other bees by having bilobed glossae.
Australian native bees are a group of bees that play a crucial role in the pollination of native plants. There are over 1,700 species of native bees in Australia, ranging from small solitary bees to the social stingless bees. Native bees are important for native ecosystems, providing pollination services to native plants, and hold value for Australian agriculture.
The cosmopolitan bee genus Ceratina, often referred to as small carpenter bees, is the sole lineage of the tribe Ceratinini, and is not closely related to the more familiar carpenter bees. The genus presently contains over 300 species in 23 subgenera. They make nests in dead wood, stems, or pith, and while many are solitary, a number are subsocial, with mothers caring for their larvae, and in a few cases where multiple females are found in a single nest, daughters or sisters may form very small, weakly eusocial colonies. One species is unique for having both social and asocial populations, Ceratina australensis, which exhibits all of the pre-adaptations for successful group living. This species is socially polymorphic with both solitary and social nests collected in sympatry. Social colonies in that species consist of two foundresses, one contributing both foraging and reproductive effort and the second which remains at the nest as a passive guard. Cooperative nesting provides no overt reproductive benefits over solitary nesting in this population, although brood survival tends to be greater in social colonies. Maternal longevity, subsociality and bivoltine nesting phenology in this species favour colony formation, while dispersal habits and offspring longevity may inhibit more frequent social nesting in this and other ceratinines.
In biology, Lipotriches is a large genus of sweat bees in the family Halictidae, distributed widely throughout the Eastern Hemisphere though absent from Europe. There are nearly 200 species in 9 subgenera. They commonly have prominent bands of hair on the margins of the metasomal segments.
Euhesma is a genus within the bee family Colletidae found in Australia. There are over 90 species described. The group lacks strong unifying features and maybe further split in the future. The type species is Euhesma wahlenbergiae.
Leioproctus fulvescens is a species of solitary bee belonging to the family Colletidae. This bee is endemic to the South Island of New Zealand, and its yellow-orange hair distinguishes it from all other New Zealand species of Leioproctus.
Caupolicana is a genus of bees in the family Colletidae, native to the Americas; most species are crepuscular in habit, visiting flowers only at dawn and/or dusk. There are over 50 known species, in 4 subgenera.
Epeolus is a genus of cuckoo bees in the family Apidae. They are often known as variegated cuckoo-bees. The species is uncommon to rare, and has strong patterns of black and white on the thorax and abdomen. These patterns are made of tiny fat hairs lying flush with the integument or "skin" of the bee. It is easily mistaken for Triepeolus, but is almost always smaller.
Homalictus is a subgenus of bees in the genus Lasioglossum subfamily Halictinae of the family Halictidae. They are found in Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia, east across the Pacific to the Mariana Islands, Samoa, Fiji and are most prevalent in Australia.
Palaeorhiza is a genus of bees belonging to the family Colletidae.
Colletinae is a subfamily of bees belonging to the family Colletidae.
Leioproctus imitatus is a species of plaster bee in the family Colletidae. It is a small, black, solitary bee that is endemic to New Zealand.
Leioproctus pango is a solitary bee species belonging to the genus Leioproctus, and family Colletidae. It is native to New Zealand.