Biologia de nidificação de xylocopa (neoxylocopa) frontalis olivier) (hymenoptera, apidae, xylocopini) em morretes, paraná

Abstract

Paraná. The present study investigated the nesting activities of Xylocopa (Neoxylocopa) frontalis (Olivier, 1789) in a nest aggregation in Morretes, Paraná, where this species is the main pollinator of Passiflora edulis f. flavicarpa (yellow passion fruit), an important crop in the region. Annual nesting cycle, nest substrate selection and use of wood and bamboo trap nests were studied during 2006. In this region, X. frontalis has an univoltine cycle, with a peak of nesting founding from October to December. External flight activities started earlier in summer and were restricted to warmer hours of the day in winter. Number of flights per hour was significantly correlated with minimum air temperature, among main climatic variables. Number of new nests founded was more strongly correlated with average values of the regional historical climate variables prevailing two months after the nest foundations, suggesting selection pressure for emergence of new bees under favorable conditions of precipitation, temperature and photoperiod. During the main blooming period of P. edulis, a synchrony between the peak of daily flight activities and the beginning of anthesis was observed, a pattern confirming the tight interaction between these two species. The main natural enemies in the region were Cissites maculata Swederus (Coleoptera, Meloidae) and an unidentified species of Leucospis Fabricius (Hymenoptera, Leucospidae).