The Potential Management of a Ground-Nesting, Solitary Bee: Anthophora abrupta (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

Abstract

In Apr 2010, Anthophora abrupta (Say) (Hymenoptera: Apidae) was discovered nesting in open bags of colloidal clay in Gainesville, Florida, USA, in an open-air shed. Label data from A. abrupta specimens in the Hymenoptera holdings of the Florida State Collection of Arthropods indicated that no specimen had been collected previously from Alachua County and that the most recent Floridian specimen was collected in 1987. This suggests that A. abrupta may be locally rare and possibly in decline or threatened regionally. Many of the plants that A. abrupta is reported to visit are listed as threatened or endangered in 1 or more states. In an effort to study the potential management and conservation of this species, the original nest aggregation was split in 2012 and 2013, and the splits were moved to new nest sites to see if they would establish at the new sites. Both mother and daughter nest aggregations were monitored in Spring of 2012-2014. Herein, a brief review of A. abrupta natural history, an account of the attempts to split the aggregations for new nest establishment, and suggestions for the potential management of this beneficial insect are discussed.