Comportamento reprodutivo de centris analis, centris tarsata emegachile microsoma (hymenoptera: apidae, megachilidae) na Amazônia Oriental, Brasil

Abstract

Solitary bees (Hymenoptera: Anthophila) make up the majority of existing bee species. Despite their vast diversity in life histories, little is known about their reproductive biology compared to other aspects of their bionomy. Among solitary bees, those that nest in the soil have had their reproductive behavior studied more thoroughly than those that nest in other substrates, such as in pre-existing cavities. This study aimed to provide unprecedented data on the reproductive behavior of three species of solitary bees: Centris (Hemisiella) tarsata Smith, 1874, C. (Heterocentris) analis (Fabricius, 1804), and Megachile (Ptilosarus) microsoma Cockerell, 1912. The first two species are well known regarding their nesting biology, but no data exists on their reproductive behavior. M. microsoma, on the other hand, has very little information available about its bionomy and nothing in known about its reproductive behavior. The bees were collected in the Amazon biome on Ilha do Maranhão, Maranhão, Brazil, between 2021 and 2023 using trap nests. All species studied were protandrous and females mated only once. Centris analis had the longest copulation, while M. microsoma had the shortest. There are indications of diferente reproductive strategies among Centris species, which may be related to the theories of “Sexual Conflict” and the “Cryptic Female Choice”. In M. microsoma, certainmorphological peculiarities may be linked to the way the bee mates.