Individual scent marking of the nest entrance as a mechanism for nest recognition inXylocopa pubescens (Hymenoptera: Anthophoridae)

The mechanism by which female Xylocopa pubescenslocate their nest in a nesting aggregation was investigated. The bees were induced to nest in canes to which uniform nest entrances were attached. The results of nest displacement experiments revealed that the bees use visual cues for proximate orientation,but at very close range they also use olfactory cues. This conclusion was corroborated by the results of experiments in which the nest entrances were either removed or exchanged for alien nest entrances. Moreover, habituation experiments strongly indicated that the bees impart their individual marking at the nest entrance and that they can learn and memorize the individual odors of the neighboring bees.