Nesting Biology of the Solitary Ground-Nesting Bee Diadasina riparia (Apidae: Emphorini)

Abstract

We described the nesting behavior and ecology of Diadasina riparia from an urban dry forest fragment. The nests of D. riparia were shallow with a circular entrance, closed by a mud plug, from which a straight vertical tunnel ending in one or more brood cells. Most females need one day for construction and provisioning the nest. The natural enemies were flies of the Anthrax genus, the cleptoparasitic bees Leiopodus trochantericus, and Mutillidae wasps. The feature about the life history, nest architecture, materials used, pollen provision behavior, and associated organisms of this species allows comparison with other emphorines species.