Not all who wander are lost: nest fidelity in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Xylocopa virginica</Emphasis> examined by mark recapture |
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Authors: | M Peso M H Richards |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Biology, Macquarie University, 209 Culloden Rd., Marsfield, NSW, 2109, Australia;(2) Department of Biological Sciences, Brock University, 500 Glenridge Ave., St. Catharines, ON, L2S 3A1, Canada |
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Abstract: | Relocation to novel nests (sometimes called drifting) in flying Hymenoptera is often interpreted as the result of navigation
error and guard bees erroneously admitting foreign individuals into the nest. We studied nest fidelity and nest relocation
of both females and males in a nesting aggregation of Xylocopa virginica in southern Ontario, Canada, where females can nest either solitarily or socially. Adult female and male bees were trapped
at nest entrances, individually paint marked, and then released. Subsequent recapture patterns were used to assess nest fidelity:
that is, how faithful individuals were to their home nest and how often they moved to another nest. Bees were considered to
have relocated if they were recaptured in a nest different from the one in which they were initially trapped, indicating that
they had spent at least one night in a new nest. Some females were only captured in one nest, some occasionally moved to new
nests, temporarily or permanently, and a few were never caught in the same nest twice. In addition, females relocated to nests
that were further away in 2007 when population density was low, suggesting that they seek out and claim nesting spaces when
they are available. Males relocated more frequently than females, with most drifting from nest to nest in no obvious pattern.
This indicates that males spend the night wherever space is available or in nests nearest to their territories. This study
reveals that for both female and male X. virginica, nest membership is not as stable as once thought. |
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