Notes on the Nesting Biology of the Small Carpenter Bee Ceratina smaragdula (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in Northwestern Pakistan

Abstract The nesting biology and some foraging activities of the familiar, brilliant metallic green, small carpenter bee Ceratina (Pithitis) smaragdula (F.) (Hymenoptera: Apidae) is documented from the northwestern-most extent of its natural distribution, as the species is a potentially important pollinator of leguminous and cucurbit crops in the region. Numerous nests around the village of Ismaila, Swabi, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan, were observed and sampled from Jun through Aug 2012. Nest details were recorded and foraging times on various floral species were documented, with bees preferentially nesting in wooden stalks of Ravenna grass (Saccharum ravennae L.; Poales: Poaceae), life cycles lasting 28 to 32 d, and conditions offering the potential for easy management. The importance of such studies on wild bees in Pakistan is stressed, as are the development of biotic surveys on bees and the training of regional melittologists, coupled with outreach activities.

[1]  N. Warrit,et al.  Nesting biology of an Oriental carpenter bee, Xylocopa (Biluna) nasalis Westwood, 1838, in Thailand (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Xylocopinae) , 2014 .

[2]  M. S. Khan,et al.  Nesting biology of the small carpenter bees Ceratina propinqua and Ceratina simillima (Hymenoptera: Apidae) , 2014 .

[3]  S. Saeed,et al.  Exploring the best native pollinators for pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo) production in Punjab, Pakistan. , 2014 .

[4]  M. Engel,et al.  Obtaining a better taxonomic understanding of native bees: where do we start? , 2013 .

[5]  M. Engel,et al.  The large carpenter bees of central Saudi Arabia, with notes on the biology of Xylocopa sulcatipes Maa (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Xylocopinae) , 2012, ZooKeys.

[6]  M. Engel.  Systematic melittology: where to from here? , 2011 .

[7]  Sachin A. Punekar,et al.  Observations on an unusual behaviour in the Carpenter Bee Xylocopa aestuans (Latreille, 1802) (Hymenoptera: Apidae) of the Western Ghats, India , 2010 .

[8]  M. Schwarz,et al.  Evidence of Social Nesting in the Ceratina of Borneo (Hymenoptera: Apidae) , 2009 .

[9]  Y. Hirashima.  SYNOPSIS OF THE GENUS PITHITIS KLUG OF THE WORLD ( Hymenoptera : Anthophoridae ) , 2007 .

[10]  A. Raju,et al.  Nesting habits, floral resources and foraging ecology of large carpenter bees (Xylocopa latipes and Xylocopa pubescens) in India , 2006 .

[11]  R. Snelling.  Bees of the Hawaiian Islands, Exclusive of Hylaeus (Nesoprosopis) (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) , 2003 .

[12]  J. Beardsley,et al.  Pithitis smaragdula (Fabricius), an Asiatic Bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Now Apparently Established on Oahu , 2001 .

[13]  S. Malaipan,et al.  Biology and nesting plant preference of small carpenter bees Ceratina spp. and Pithitis smaragdula (F.) (Anthophoridae) , 1992 .

[14]  S. W. Batra.  Nests of Ceratina, Pithitis and Braunsapis from India (Hymenoptera : Anthophoridae) , 1976 .

[15]  S. W. Batra.  Comparative Efficiency of Alfalfa Pollination by Nomia Melanderi, Megachile Rotundata, Anthidium florentinum and Pithis Smaragdula (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) , 1976 .

[16]  G. Bohart,et al.  Introduction of Small Carpenter Bees into California for Pollination. 1. Release of Pithitis smaragdula , 1971 .

[17]  S. W. Batra.  Crop Pollination and the Flower Relationships of the Wild Bees of Ludhiana, India , 1967 .

[18]  J. Vecht.  A perliminary revision of the Oriental species of the genus Ceratina (Hymenoptera, Apidae) , 1952 .