Apidae

A grande riqueza de abelhas está atrelada à grande diversidade de plantas com flores, que possuem certas atratividades para garantir a visita às flores, e consequente polinização. No Rio Grande do Sul, estudos sobre a fauna de abelhas e a flora apícola associada já foram realizados, porém ainda são escassos. Desta forma, correlacionamos os táxons de abelhas e espécies de plantas coletados em uma área florestal urbana e verificamos as relações ecológicas e tróficas entre elas, especialmente ao nicho da abelha exótica Apis mellifera Linnaeus, sobre as abelhas silvestres. Coletamos nas flores um total de 2.772 abelhas determinadas em cinco famílias, 54 gêneros e 88 táxons. Apidae foi a família melhor representada com 35 espécies e 2.047 indivíduos. As abelhas foram coletadas em 43 espécies de plantas classificadas em 19 famílias botânicas sendo Asteraceae a mais visitada. A planta com o maior número de abelhas coletadas foi Citrus sinensis (L.), 30% do total, tendo A. mellifera a mais representativa. 34% dos táxons de abelhas estão correlacionados às espécies de plantas visitadas, contudo, quando verificamos esta correlação excluindo a espécie A. mellifera, ocorre um aumento significativo, atingindo 93%. A manutenção deste fragmento vegetal a suas flores é importante para conservação da biodiversidade apifauna local. Palavras-chave: Abelhas nativas, Apis mellifera; polinização; sobreposição de nicho trófico; visitantes florais. Diversity of bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) and floral visitation in an Atlantic Forest area in southern Brazil Abstract. The high bees' richness is associated to the great diversity of flowering plants, which have some attractiveness to ensure flowers visiting and the consequent pollination. In Rio Grande do Sul state, studies on the bee fauna associated with bee flora have already been made but are uncommon. In this way, the taxa of bees and plants species visited were correlated, and the ecological and trophic relations between them, particularly in relation to the niche of the exotic bee Apis mellifera Linnaeus on wild bees were analyzed, in an urban forest area. We collected 2,772 bees from the flowers, determined in five families, 54 genera and 88 taxa. Apidae was the best family represented with 35 species and 2,047 individuals. The bees were collected from 43 plants species, classified in 19 botanical families, Asteraceae are the most visited. The plant with the largest number of bees collected was Citrus sinensis (L.), 30% of the bees, and the A. mellifera the most representative. 34% of the taxa of bees are correlated to the species of plants visited, however, when we see this correlation excluding A. mellifera, there is a significant increase, reaching 93%. The maintenance of this plant fragment and the flowers is important for preserving the bees' biodiversity in this site.

Bees are dependent on flower nectar and pollen (main sources of protein and energy, respectively) and have an important economic and ecological role as pollinators, representing about 40 to 90% of phanerogams pollinators in several ecosystems. This work presents a description of bee species from Parque Municipal da Cachoeirinha in Iporá, Goiás state, Brazil. A total of 58 hours of capturing were performed on November and December 2004 and on March and May 2005. A total of 933 individuals were collected, distributed in one family, 16 tribes, 33 genera, and 62 species. Meliponini tribe presented the highest number of individuals and species. Most abundant species were Trigona chanchamayoensis (16.51%), Tetragona clavipes (14.79%) and Apis mellifera and Trigona recursa (12.33%). This work presents the first occurrence in Goiás state for six genera and 12 species.

Abstract. A new stingless bee species of the genus Nogueirapis Moure (Apinae: Meliponini) is described and figured. Nogueirapis costaricana Ayala & Engel, new species, is distinguished from its congeners, particularly N. mirandula (Cockerell), a species also known from the Pacific forests of Costa Rica. A key to the species of Nogueirapis, based on the worker caste, is provided.

From the study of the Greek bumblebee fauna (Hymenoptera: Apidae, Bombini), species lists have been published based on both literature records and original data from collected bees. Since 1995 a special effort to confirm with newly collected bees all bumblebee species reported in literature records for Greece has been in progress. Although numerous specimens have been collected and examined and in some instances yielding new Bombus species for the Greek insect fauna, some species, mainly those reported in older references, have not yet been found. Recently, identification of bumblebees collected in the Florina Prefecture - Northwest Macedonia, during the years 2006 and 2007 yielded information for two “literature cited” species, Bombus subterraneus (Linnaeus 1758) and Bombus cryptarum (Fabricius 1775). A B. subterraneus queen (collected at 40°47´38N, 21°26´10E on Vicia cracca) was distinguished by morphological characteristics and a worker B. cryptarum (collected at 40°41´58,7N, 21°28´18,5E on Echium spp) was revealed using mitochondrial DNA RFLP analysis of the CO1 gene. These new records from Florina are provided with comments, confirming the species presence in Greece for the first time after approximately 40 years.

Mozambique's Niassa Reserve contains Africa's best preserved miombo woodlands. Half of the households there gather wild honey from natural hives for consumption and income. However, most collectors used destructive techniques: setting fire to the grasses under the hive tree to create smoke and then felling the tree. Cutting trees to obtain honey was the principal source of tree mortality. Trees grow very slowly, about 0.25 cm diameter [dbh]/yr, meaning an average hive tree was nearly 200 years old. Furthermore, of the trees > 20 cm dbh of species important for nectar and hives, only about 15% had cavities. Although fire is intrinsic to miombo woodlands, the increased frequency resulting from anthropogenic sources impedes regeneration of some tree species as well as affecting bees, other wildlife and villages. A few people in the reserve had learned from earlier generations how to gather honey in a nondestructive way, using certain plant species to keep bees from stinging ...

Survey  was  conducted  in  different  localities  of  district  Skardu,  Gilgit  Baltistan  during  the  year  of  20162017  to  record  species  composition  belonging  to  genus  Bombus  Latreille  1802.  It  was  discovered  that  11 species  distributed  over  8  subgenera  of  the  family  Apidae  under  subfamily  Apinae,  tribe  Bombini occurring  in  this  region.  The  subgenera,  Alpigenobombus,  Bombus  and  Melanobombus  were  represented by  two  species  namely  Bombus  breviceps  Smith,  Bombus  kashmirensis  Friese;  Bombus  lucorum  subsp jocobsoni  (Skorikov),  Bombus  s.  str.  tunicatus  Smith;  Bombus  rufofasciatus  Smith,  Bombus semenovianus  (Skorikov)  respectively.  While  subgenera  Orientalibombus,  Psithyrus,  Pyrobombus, Sibiricobombus  and  Subterraneobombus  were  represented  by  a  single  species  each  namely  Bombus haemorrhoidalis  Smith,  Bombus  ferganicus  (Radoszkowski),  Bombus  lepidus  Skorikov,  Bombus asiaticus  Morawitz  and  Bombus  melanurus  Lepeletier  respectively  in  the  survey  area.  Host  plants  for each  species  were  also  recorded  from  the  studied  areas.  Key  to  the  identification  of  female  bumblebees subgenera and  species  have  been  constructed  for district Skardu  Baltistan.

Greek bumblebee fauna records (Bombus LATREILLE 1802) are known from published studies on Greek insects and from publications concerning bumblebees or pollinators in general. From the published information concerning Greek bumblebees 23 species are presented with their valid names and with comments. Wherever noted, the locality region of each record is also mentioned. Original data are presented from the identification of specimens collected from Greece (with greater sampling effort in Florina - Northwest Macedonia). This material confirmed the presence of 17 out of the 23 species recorded in the literature, provided various new locality records and yielded five species new to the Greek entomofauna: Bombus (Psithyrus) bohemicus SEIDL 1837, B. (Ps.) campestris (PANZER 1801), B. (Ps.) maxillosus KLUG 1817, B. (Thoracobombus) deuteronymus SCHULZ 1906, B. (Th.) sylvarum (LINNAEUS 1761). An updated species list is provided for the 28 bumblebee species known currently for Greece.

►✉◀ See also these papers:
➽X. violacea Sociality & Evolution - https://www.researchgate.net/publication/236334738
➽X.violacea Sexual Biology - https://www.researchgate.net/publication/258088835
➽X.violacea Nesting Biology - https://www.researchgate.net/publication/232990708
➽X.violacea Foraging Biology - https://www.researchgate.net/publication/256546876
➽X.violacea Dimorphism - https://www.researchgate.net/publication/257138153
➽Xylocopini Systematics & Collections - https://www.researchgate.net/publication/256461358
➽Cacyreus marshalli - https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235791727
➽Rosalia & Osmoderma - https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235637273
➽Saga pedo - https://www.researchgate.net/publication/256455314
➽➽➽ BIBLIOGRAPHY
GLOBAL BIBLIOGRAPHY ☑ http://www.researchgate.net/publication/256485308
Xylocopini ADDENDA II ☑ https://www.researchgate.net/publication/256457317
Italian Bibliography ☑ https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235331396
Italian Distribution ☑ https://www.researchgate.net/publication/256461362
COSTA Bibliography ☑ https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235331412
Hymenoptera of Campania ☑ https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235637346
Formicidae of Campania ☑ https://www.researchgate.net/publication/256486142
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☑ OBJECTIVES & LIMITS - This volume represents an attempt to draw up an exhaustive bibliographical list regarding (directly and not) all the species of the three genera belonging to Xylocopini tribe (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Apidae: Xylocopinae): Xylocopa Latreille, 1802; Lestis Lepeletier & Serville, 1828; Proxylocopa Hedicke, 1938. Foundamental references are reported also for the most important species associated with Xylocopini species, as Chaetodactylidae mites (Acari) and Horiini Meloidae (Coleoptera). The aim of this wide bibliographical list is to make available and/or to accede easily to anyone who is interested in biology, systematics, biogeography about these species, to all bibliographical references dealing to this tribe, from those more recent to the old. The division in disciplines results particularly useful because every researcher is usually interested in a few and exact research field. So, the main purpose is to supply a necessary and sufficient information in order to find a possible bibliographical reference and then, to have right informations in order to know the main contents of reference itself, if the complete title is not available. This list is certainly incomplete, but the absent bibliographical references in this contribution are:
1) very difficult to find;
2) not yetpublished on examined data bases;
3) not included for my negligence;
4) they received scant ot nothing scientific spreading;
5) I have not been way of consulting them yet. Since this list is surely lacking in some references, so I reserve for me to publish at least a second part, to complete this list.
☑ DATA BASES - To get bibliographical references on the genera Xylocopa, Lestis, Proxylocopa, the data bases listed in Table I were consulted. The only data base consulted incompletely was (6), of wich the volumes I-XV are absent in the specialized libraries consulted on this subject: University of Bari, Bologna, Naples, Pisa, Portici, Rome (I, II, III); Apiculture Institute of Milan, Rome, Turin. But this is not remarkable because references in (6) relative to Xylocopini species are decreasing considerably since 1970 and under.
All the papers, notes, contributions, messages, abstracts, symposia, seminars, congress, books, guide, etc., wich comprise informations about at least one Xylocopini species or about the tribe in general (also very short quotations) were reported in this list. Moreover the bibliography reported behind every bibliographical reference directly consulted, was reported too. Some theses regarding Xylocopini species or including informations about them were reported.
General texts of zoology, ecology, biology, botany, natural history and entomology which comprise informations about Xylocopini species were reported.
☑ LIST ORGANIZZATION - All bibliographical references were classified according to informative substance of their title, if they are not consulted directly; otherwise, if they are consulted directly, they are classified on the ground of the principal contents of the text. For every biological discipline in wich the bibliographical references were classified, the organization was carried out alphanumerically. General texts of zoology, ecology, biology, botany, entomology, hymenopterology and natural history ones, were all placed in the section: general books. In this bibliographical list is also reported the bibliography of C. G. Dalla Torre (1896) - Catalogus Hymenopterorum X - regarding different Xylocopini species; these references are lacking in title and in contents; they just report the species quoted or examined in the paper; for this reason, all bibliographical references of wich it was not possible to find their complete title, were placed in a special section: historical bibliography cited in Dalla Torre C.G. (1896).
☑ BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES - The complete bibliographical references are quoted as follows: author's surname and initial letters of his name; date of publication; complete title of reference; magazine; volume number; first and last page of the reference. The books are quoted as follows: author's surname and initial of his name; date of publication; complete title of the book; publisher; publisher town; total pages; in some cases it make a reference to the exact pages in which the informations about species of Xylocopini are reported, enclosing within brackets genus and pages. The bibliographical references of which the complete title is not available, but the exact bibliographical position is known, are quoted as follows:
author's surname and initial letters of his name if it is known; date of publication; brief contents of the informations about species subject of the text or quoted; magazine; volume number; pages and/or figure and/or tables where the informations of Xylocopini species are reported.
☑ ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: The realization of this volume was possible thanks to the contribution of many authors who are all thanked sincerely for their irreplaceable help in the obtainment of the bibliography: Alcock J. (Tempe, Arizona), Anzenberger G. (Zurigo), Banaszak J. (Polonia), Cagnolaro L., (Società Scienze Naturali Italiana - Milano), Camargo J.M.F. (Ribeirao, Brasile), Camillo E. (Ribeirao, Brasile), Campadelli G. (Bologna), Comba L. (Roma), Cunha R.A. (Brasile), Daly H.V. (Essig Museum, Berkeley), Frankie G.W. (California), Eardley
C. D. (Pretoria, Sudafrica), Eisikowitch D. (Ramat-Aviv, Isdraele), Gilliam M. (Tucson, Arizona), Herrera C.M. (Sevilla, Spagna), Houston T. (Western Australia), Intoppa F. (Roma), Jackson G.C. (Porto Rico), Lefeber V. (Maastricht, Olanda), Mazzone F., (Portici), McMullen C.K. (West Liberty, West Virginia), Michener C.D. (Lawrence, Kansas), Minckley R.L. (Auburn, Alabama), Monizio R. (Roma), Navarro L. (Galicia, Spagna), Nicolson S.W. (Cape Town, Sudafrica), Nuzzaci P. (Bari), Orion T. (Isdraele), O’Toole C. (Oxford), Pagliano G. (Torino), Pantaleoni R. (Sassari), Parente F. and Iuliani L. (Guardia Sanframondi, BN, Italy), Piazza M.G. (Roma), Rainieri V. (Doria Museum, Genova), Roig-Alsina A. (Buenos Aires), Sakagami S.F. (Sapporo, Giappone), Sanchez-Ortiz F.J. (Spagna), Schedl W. (Innsbruck, Austria), Terzo M. (Mons, Belgio), Torres F. (Salamanca, Spagna), Tremblay E. (Portici, Napoli), Tybirk K. (Risskov, Danimarca), Watmough R.H. (Pretoria, Sudafrica). Many thanks are also due to: Ascione F. (Library of Zoological Institute of Naples); Faller E., Fiorito G. and Misasi L. (Library of Zoological Station Anton Dohrn of Naples); Priore R., Retillo F. and Iorio G. (Library of Entomological & Zoological Institute of Royal Agronomic University of Portici); thanks also to the personnel of the following institute: Library of Institute of Agricultural Zoology Section of Apiculture of Rome; Library of Agronomic University of Bari; Library of Royal Accademy of Phisical, Mathematical and Natural Sciences of Naples.
Many thanks are paprticularly due to A. Vicidomini (Nocera Inferiore), V. Nobile (Catania), M. De Benedictis (Bosco Reale), M. G. Piazza and Intoppa F. (Roma), F. Finotti (Rovereto) for administrative support.
☑ TABLE I: Data bases used for the bibliography.
CODE DATA-BASES FROM-TO
1 BIOLOGICAL ABSTRACTS 1927-1996
2 CURRENT CONTENTS IN LIFE SCIENCES 1958-1996
3 CURRENT CONTENTS IN AGRICULTURAL, BIOLOGICAL & ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES 1969-1996
4 ZOOLOGICAL RECORDS 1864-1996
5 ENTOMOLOGY ABSTRACTS 1969-1996
6 APICULTURAL ABSTRACTS 1966-1996
7 REVIEW OF APPLIED ENTOMOLOGY SERIE A 1913-1996
8 HORTICULTURAL ABSTRACTS 1931-1996
9 FIELD CROP ABSTRACTS 1948-1996
10 REVIEW OF APPLIED ENTOMOLOGY SERIE B 1913-1996
11 PLANT BREEDING ABSTRACTS 1930-1996

The study of the variability of the flower visiting entomofauna between Palar and Djarengol-Kodek (Maroua, Cameroon) and the influence of the pollination type were carried out in 2020 for assessing their impact on sesame production. Three treatments of 50 plants each were used according to whether the flowers were open-pollinated (TA) or protected using mosquito net cages (TB) and plastic cages (TC) for analysis. The diversity and composition of the entomofauna were compared between localities from TA as well as the resulting pod and seed yields of the crop. 21 and 12 insect species were found foraging on sesame flowers in Palar and Djarengol-Kodek respectively. Hymenoptera had a high relative abundance ˃ 92% at both sites and played a key role in pollinating the flowers of the host plant species. The diversity index was higher in Palar (H’ = 3.10) than in Djarengol-Kodek (H’ = 2.64). The Jaccard similarity index between both sites was J = 0.43. During their floral activity, these b...

This study was conducted during 2017-18 to explore the genus Bombus Latreille, 1802 from the
Himalayan region of Pakistan. As a result, we found 771 specimens of bumblebees, among them nine
species viz. Bombus asiaticus Morawitz, 1875, B. lucorum subsp. jacobsoni Skorikov, 1912, B.
rufofasciatus Smith, 1852, B. tunicatus Smith, 1852, B. kashmirensis Friese, 1909, B. semenovianus
Skorikov, 1914, B. melanurus Lepeleitier, 1836, B. lepidus Skorikov, 1912 and B. ferganicus
Radoszkowski, 1893. Of these, B. semenovianus Skorikov, 1914, B. ferganicus Radoszkowski, 1893, B.
kashmirensis Friese, 1909 and B. lepidus Skorikov, 1912 are new records for Gilgit-Baltistan. Most of
the bumblebees were collected in altitudinal ranges of 6000ft-9000ft. Diagrams of each bumblebee cast
have been listed with distribution.

Original data are presented from the identification of bumblebee specimens collected (survey seasons 2005-2007) from Flórina Prefecture, Northwestern region of Macedonia, Greece. This material revealed five species new to the Greek entomofauna: Bombus (Psithyrus) rupestris (FABRICIUS 1793), B. (Ps.) sylvestris (LEPELETIER 1832), B. (Thoracobombus) mlokosievitzii RADOSZKOWSKI 1877, B. (Rhodobombus) armeniacus RADOSZKOWSKI 1877 and B. (Pyrobombus) hypnorum (LINNAEUS 1758). This paper reports on new findings, with full detailed collection data, and thus updates the current record in Greece to a total of 33 Bombus species.

El objetivo de este trabajo fue determinar marcadores palinológicos que permitieran caracterizar el origen geográfico y botánico de mieles provenientes de los departamentos de Boyacá, Cundinamarca, Santander y Magdalena. Se realizaron análisis melisopalinológicos de 184 muestras de miel procedentes de 131 apiarios. Se determinaron diferencias significativas entre tipos de mieles mediante un análisis discriminante y comparando la composición de especies entre las muestras. En total se encontraron 297 especies distribuidas en 69 familias, dentro de las cuales las más representativas fueron Mimosa sp., Cecropia sp., Eucalyptus sp., Piper sp. y Quercus humboldtii. Las familias más importantes fueron Fabaceae, Asteraceae,Myrtaceae, Rubiaceae, Fagaceae, y Melastomataceae. Se lograron determinar seis grupos de mieles diferenciadas por su origen geográfico: Altiplano Cundiboyacense, Medio Chicamocha, Sumapaz, Bajo Chicamocha, Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta y Provincia Comunera; también se encontraron diferencias entre las mieles de las regiones andinas y subandinas. Dentro de los tipos de mieles diferenciadas por origen botánico predominaron las mieles monoflorales de Trifolium pratense, Coffea arabica, Eucalyptus sp., Inga sp.y Heliocarpus americanus, mieles oligoflorales de asteráceas y mezclas de mielato de Q. humboldtii y néctar floral (Eucalyptus sp. tipo Brassicaceae, asteráceas). La información de este trabajo junto con la obtenida en análisis fisicoquímicos y sensoriales servirá de base para que los apicultores puedan solicitar la denominación de origen de estas mieles.

From the study of the Greek bumblebee fauna (Hymenoptera: Apidae, Bombini), species lists have been published based on both literature records and original data from collected bees. Since 1995 a special effort to confirm with newly collected bees all bumblebee species reported in literature records for Greece has been in progress. Although numerous specimens have been collected and examined and in some instances yielding new Bombus species for the Greek insect fauna, some species, mainly those reported in older references, have not yet been found. Recently, identification of bumblebees collected in the Florina Prefecture - Northwest Macedonia, during the years 2006 and 2007 yielded information for two “literature cited” species, Bombus subterraneus (Linnaeus 1758) and Bombus cryptarum (Fabricius 1775). A B. subterraneus queen (collected at 40°47´38N, 21°26´10E on Vicia cracca) was distinguished by morphological characteristics and a worker B. cryptarum (collected at 40°41´58,7N, 21°...

This faunistic and economic entomology study was conducted in Western Turkey in 2016 using two different types of fermented bait traps: fig bait traps and wine bait traps. As a result of the study, a total of nine species, seven from Vespidae family and two from Apidae family, were caught. When the samples caught were evaluated according to the type of trap used, a total of 2919 samples belonging to both families were caught, 1028 (35.22%) with wine bait traps and 1891 (64.78%) with fig bait traps. The number of species caught with wine bait traps is eight, and the number of species caught with fig bait traps is nine. Separately, 317 (33.87%) of 936 samples in the Vespidae family were caught with wine bait traps and 619 (66.13%) with fig bait traps. The proportional superiority seen in fig bait traps is also valid for Vespinae (64.05%) and Polistinae (75.44%) subfamilies. Also, 64.15% of the species in the Apidae family were caught with fig bait traps and 35.85% with wine bait traps. The most caught number species is Apis mellifera Linnaeus, 1758 (67.52%), and it is thought to be beneficial to carefully consider the issue by fig producers and beekeepers in order to prevent bee losses caused by bait traps, especially in areas where mobile beekeeping is performed.

The peculiar Andrena agilissima (mining bee) was common in the southern third of Germany until the 1960s. Then the population was
decreasing. In Hassia the first actual find was made in 2000, in eastern Hassia in 2007. In northern Hassia it was found on the estate of the Lebendiges Bienenmuseum in May 2012.
Zusammenfassung
Die auffällige Blauschillernde Sandbiene Andrena agilissima war im südlichen Drittel
Deutschlands bis in die 1960er Jahre weit verbreitet, erfuhr danach aber einen starken Bestandseinbruch. In Hessen gelangen die ersten
aktuellen Nachweise erst wieder ab dem Jahr 2000. Aus Osthessen ist sie seit 2007 bekannt, während sie in Nordhessen erstmals im Mai 2012 auf dem Gelände des Lebendigen Bienenmuseums nachgewiesen werden konnte.

Euglossini bees are important Neotropical pollinators, but there is a lack in the knowledge about this fauna in dry tropical environments. The aims of this study were to evaluate the richness and abundance of euglossine bees in two fragments of seasonally dry tropical forest (Caatinga), as well as to assess the distribution of euglossine species richness in the Caatinga environment. Males were collected along 12 consecutive months, using traps with aromatic baits. The species richness (S=5) was lower than in rainforests and savannas. Euglossa cordata (L.) was the dominant species in the assemblage, representing 70% of the individuals. The highest abundance occurred in the rainy season. Euglossini fauna presents low local species richness in Caatinga areas, however the beta diversity is higher, since assemblages in different habitats have differences in species composition.

The Chandertal Wildlife Sanctuary occupy high altitude wetland area designated as an internationally known Ramsar site situated near little below the Kunzam Pass (4520 m above mean sea level) in Lahaul & Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh. Chandertal Lake alongwith few semi permanent land locked water reservoirs interspersed among grassy meadows help in wetland formation. The hymenopterans exhibit instinctive behaviour with perfection along with ecological, medicinal and economic significance. Various sites of Chandertal Wildlife Sanctuary were explored for collection and observations of its inhabitant nival fauna. The air density, atmospheric pressure, concentration of oxygen, carbon dioxide and water vapours are quite low. Due to high altitude along with high atmospheric transparency the insolation of high intensity during morning to noon make area warmer but rapid radiation loss during evening and night hours along with high wind velocity result in to
excessive cold nights. Many such other factors make this area intolerable so that very less biodiversity is present. From this studied area, during July to October months of the survey years, seven hymenopteran species belonging to seven genera of four families have been collected and described. Bombus rufofasciatus Smith, Sphecodes iridipennis Smith, Megachile Latrielle of family Apidae; Larra Fabricius, Podalonia Fernald of family Sphecidae; Formica gagates Latreille of family
Formicidae and one species of family Ichneumonidae are reported. The colonies of Formica gagates found to be most abundant in grassy vegetation and underneath stone crevices. Among aerial hymenopterans, Sphecodes iridipennis being small in size were second most abundant and collected via sweeping the grassy vegetations. The relative abundance of other described hymenopterans found to be comparatively less.

Bees have a diversified natural history, thus the methods applied to study such diversity are varied. When it comes to studies of nesting biology, bees which nest in pre-existing cavities have been reasonably well studied since researchers started using trap-nests. However, bees whose nests are built underground are poorly studied due to the difficulty of finding natural nesting areas and the absence of a method that facilitates bee nest excavation. The latter is evidenced by the lack of accurate descriptions in literature of how nests are excavated. In this study we tested cylindrical rubber refills of eraser pen as a new material to be used as a tracer of underground nest galleries in a natural nesting area of two species of Epicharis Klug, 1807 (Apidae). We compared this technique directly with plaster in powder form mixed with water and our results with other methodological studies describing alternative methods and materials. The rubber refill technique overcame the main issues presented by materials such as plaster, molten metal alloys and bioplastic, namely: death of the organisms by high temperatures and/or formation of plugs and materials unduly following the roots inside the galleries.