Fauna associated with the nests of the carpenter bees Xylocopa spp. (Hymenoptera: Anthophoridae)
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Abstract
The carpenter bees are one of the most common groups of Hymenoptera in the tropics. Their interest miles biologically on their semisocial behavior and economically in the pollination of the yellow passion fruit and the damage of wood where they nest. An aspect that is important for the understanding of their biology is the fauna associated with their nests. During the study, several observations and collections were made on the tropical forest in the middle zone of the valley of the Cauca river, with an altitude between 916-1,000 masl, in the north of the Departamento del Valle, Colombia; and in the riverside forest of the river Güejar, with altitude 580 masl, in the Macarena National Park in Meta. In the nests of Xylocopa (Megaxylocopa) frontalis (Olivier) and Xylocopa (Neoxylocopa) spp. in wood and trunks of dead Crees, several associated arthropods were found: Chaetodactilidae mites; Asilidae flies; Cissites maculata (Swederus) (Coleoptera: Meloidae); Leucospis sp. (Hymenoptera: Leucospidae); Coelopencyrtus sp. (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae); Tnbolium sp. (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) and several types of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Also, birds were found with suggested mutualisms like Picumnus granadensis(Picidae) and predatory «oropéndolas» Moluthrus bonariensis (Icteridae). The nests of the carpenter bees are complex micro ecosystems with their own associated fauna. Predatory, parasitic, opportunistic, and occasional visitors forms might present adapted dynamics to the biology of disease bees.
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