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11 June 2020 A Nesting Aggregation of Rediviva intermixta (Melittinae: Melittidae) with Males Sleeping Together in Burrows: Namaqualand, South Africa
Annalie Melin, Jonathan F. Colville
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Abstract

A nest aggregation of the oil-collecting bee Rediviva intermixta (Cockerell, 1934) (Hymenoptera: Melittidae: Melittinae) was found associated with a mound of harvester termite, Microhodotermes viator (Latreille, 1804) occupying a clay-rich bank. We first noticed this nest aggregation by the intensive patrolling of seemingly hundreds of males searching for females close to the ground. We estimate the density of nests as 194 nests/m2 or 2917 nests in the 15m2 aggregation. This short communication presents observations on the daily activity and interactive behavior of males and females at the nesting holes. We provide the first account for this family of the males sleeping together in burrows, rather than on flowers.

© 2019 Kansas Entomological Society
Annalie Melin and Jonathan F. Colville "A Nesting Aggregation of Rediviva intermixta (Melittinae: Melittidae) with Males Sleeping Together in Burrows: Namaqualand, South Africa," Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 92(3), 561-568, (11 June 2020). https://doi.org/10.2317/0022-8567-92.3.561
Received: 9 September 2019; Accepted: 15 November 2019; Published: 11 June 2020
KEYWORDS
copulation
nesting behavior
oil-collecting
patrolling males
Solitary bees
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