Solitary bees

Elder stems with their pith removed make a nesting site for solitary bees. This is helpful near fields of alfalfa, where the presence of bees aids plant pollination. Elder s summer flowers provide an important source of nectar for many insects. Swallow-tailed... 

Flowers of some orchids mimic both the appearance and sex pheromone of virgin females of certain species of bees or wasps. This sexual deception results in pollination by male hymenoptera that would not normally visit flowers. Japanese honey bee drones (Apis cerana japonica) cluster on the oriental orchid (Cymbidiumpumilum) while on their mating flights [ 134]. By comparing volatile profiles of orchids and the female hymenoptera they mimic, or by GC-EAD and GC-MS analysis of orchid volatiles, several compounds have been identified that may mediate this attraction for the solitary bee Andrena nigroaenea [135, 136] and the scoliid wasp Campsoscolia ciliata [135]. 

One family of these solitary bees consists of smallish wasplike creatures commonly called cuckoo bees. As their name implies, they are parasites that lay their eggs in other bees nests, thereby evading all the responsibilities of parenthood. There are several similar species of cuckoo bees, but those we shall focus on are called Nomada marshamella, and the solitary bees they parasitize are Andrena carantonica. We can designate them parasite and host, respectively. Female host bees nest in the ground, each one digging a main burrow with short lateral tunnels. At the end of each tunnel... 

Enantiomerically pure (5)-(+)-linalool was the main constituent in the extracts of the solitary bee Colletes cunicularius L. (Hymenoptera Col-letidae). Field tests using pure enantiomers and the racemate of linalool showed that the highest activity for male bees was for (5)-(+)-linalool. ... 

Aminocarb. Next to fenitrothion, aminocarb has been the insecticide used most extensively in forestry in Canada over the past decade. Application rates of up to 0.175 kg/ha have been found to have little or no impact on forest songbird populations or small mammal breeding activity, but do cause considerable knockdown of terrestrial arthropods, particularly at higher application rates (35, 36). Short-lived but fairly extensive honeybee mortality has been documented when aminocarb has been applied while active foraging was underway, but the overall colony vigor was not seriously effected (37 ). Aminocarb does not appear to cause bumble bee mortality at operational application rates, but does affect solitary bees ( 18). 

Francke W., Bartels J., Krohn S., Schulz S., Baader E., Tengo J., and Schneider D. (1989) Terpenoids from bark beetles, solitary bees and danaine butterflies. Pure Appl. Chem. 61, 539-542. 

The social organization of insect colonies indicates the importance of information that is usually not needed in solitary insects. Information about the presence and fertility of a queen strongly affects worker behavior and colony organization. Reproductive competition in colonies requires the correct assessment of each others rank. All of this information about fertility status and/or dominance status can be encoded in the cuticular hydrocarbon profile of members of ant, wasp, and bee colonies. Understanding variations in these hydrocarbon profiles, their composition, and relation to fertility is key to the further understanding of the major property of eusocial insects, reproductive division of labor. 

Vereecken, N. J. and Mahe, G. (2007). Larval aggregations of the blister beetle Stenoria analis (Schaum) (Coleoptera Meloidae) sexually deceive patrolling males of their host, the solitary bee Colletes hederae Schmidt and Westrich (Hymenoptera Colletidae). Ann. Soc. Entomol. Fr., 43, 493 196. 

One of the most well-known examples of insect toxins is melittin, a bee venom peptide with potent haemolytic activity. Melittin adopts an a-helical conformation, and has been extensively characterised using a range of techniques, including both solution- and solid-state NMR spectroscopy.176 Some helical peptides with antimicrobial activity have also been found in wasps, such as eumenine mastroparan-AF (EMP-AF-NH2) from the venom of the solitary wasp Anterhynchium flavormarginatum micado,177 and the cecropins found in the haemolymph of Hyalophora cecropia.178 Several of these peptides have cytotoxic activity and are potential anticancer agents.179... 

Tetracosane is another component of the female sex pheromone bouquet of the solitary bee A. nigroaenea461. 

Tacke et al45 synthesized the enantiomers of sila-linalool (61) as shown in Figure 11. The starting material 60 was converted into ( )-61, which was resolved by GC to give both (+)-61 and (—)-61. Both enantiomers were bioactive as tested by electroantennographic detection (EAD) on the males of the vernal solitary bee Colletes cunicularius. There was no major difference between the bioactivity of the sila-pheromone 61 and the natural linalool. The substitution of a carbon atom by silicon provides a good example of bioisosterism. 

A number of symbioses exist in which insects use natural products to parasitize insect colonies. Meloid beetles, which contain cantharidin (142) (Scheme 17) as a blistering repellant, spend one part of their complicated life cycle in nests of hymenopterans. The first larval stage is the mobile triungulin form. In yHf/of and other genera, these larvae climb flowers and assemble to form multispecimen aggregates with bee-like appearance and an attractive effect on male bees. In Mdoe franciscanus, the parasite of the solitary bee Habropoda pallida, it has been... 

Bergstrom, G. (1974). Natural odoriferous compounds. X. Macrocyclic lactones in the Dufour gland secretion of the solitary bees Colletes cunicularius and Halictus calceatus (Hymenoptera, Apidae). Chem. Scr. 5, 39-46. 

Dead and decaying wood, which provides foods and nesting sites for creatures such as beetles or solitary bees. Eventually, holes in the trunk can create nesting sites for birds. 

Make nesting sites for solitary bees by drilling holes of different dimensions in wood. 

To encourage lots of beneficial insects such as ladybugs, lacewings, and bees to stay on in your gardens or yard, you can easily make hibernation homes for them. Cut up short lengths of bamboo poles or hollow plant stems, cram them into an open-fronted box or tube, and hang the tube in a sheltered spot. There are also ready-made versions of these shelters available to buy. For solitary bees and wasps, drill holes of different sizes in pieces of wood. Then position your bee and wasp homes in areas where the insects activities will not disturb you while you are in the garden. 

Frohlich, D.R., 1990. Substrate specificity of esterases in a solitary bee. Megachile rotundata (Hymenoptera Megachilidae) variability in sex, age and life stage. Biochem. Syst. Ecol. 18, 539-547. 

Although the assessment of ecological consequences of temporary or permanent pest control by insecticides met technical difficulties, it has been shown that a population of small bees was more likely to be depleted than that of large species (bumble bees). Recovery was also more rapid with bumble bees, due to migration of queens from untreated areas, while solitary species recovered mostly through local reproduction. Reduction of fruit sets in some crops pollinated by native bees was associated with depression of poUinator population. 

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