Protecting nests of the allodapine bee Exoneura nigrescens from ants enhances reproductive success, in Cobboboonee State Forest, Victoria, Australia
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Published source details
Zammit J., Hogendoorn K. & Schwarz M.P. (2008) Strong constraints to independent nesting in a facultatively social bee: quantifying the effects of enemies-at-the-nest. Insectes Sociaux, 55, 74-78
Published source details Zammit J., Hogendoorn K. & Schwarz M.P. (2008) Strong constraints to independent nesting in a facultatively social bee: quantifying the effects of enemies-at-the-nest. Insectes Sociaux, 55, 74-78
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This study is summarised as evidence for the following.
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Exclude ants from solitary bee nesting sites Action Link |
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Exclude ants from solitary bee nesting sites
In a replicated controlled trial in Cobboboonee State Forest, Victoria, Australia, 50 single female nests of the endemic allodapine bee Exonuera nigrescens were protected from ants using two plastic cups and the sticky barrier Tanglefoot (Zammit et al. 2008). Fifty control nests were not protected. The nests, made in old flowering stems of the grass tree Xanthorrhoea, were set out in groups of four, one protected and one unprotected. Protected nests were more productive, with an average of 3.6 young per adult female, compared to 1.6 young per adult female in control nests.
