Veterinary Archives, Vol. 91 No. 2, 2021.
Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.24099/vet.arhiv.1163
The nesting and mating behavior of Andrena patella (Hymenoptera: Andrenidae)
Showket A. Dar
; Division of Agricultural Entomology, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Kashmir, India
Munazah Yaqoob
; Division of Agricultural Entomology, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Kashmir, India
Ivana Tlak Gajger
orcid.org/0000-0002-4480-3599
; Department for Biology and Pathology of Fish and Bees, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
This study of nesting and associated behavior patterns of Andrena patella was carried out at 27 locations with different landscape categories, from 2013 to 2016. The research areas chosen were generally flat or marshy areas. A total of 15 major nest aggregations were spotted and 120 nests were excavated. This species nests in soil, males emerge earlier than females, and mating occurred on flowers during the foraging season, in the 3rd week of May. The various nest and cell parameters showed low variability in the different years and different sites, but nest cell length, diameter and number varied significantly, as well as depth even at the same site. The nests were multi-cellular, oblique to horizontal, and cell shape was oval. The mating attempts of the pairs and copulatory behavior involved various steps which were completed in a very few seconds. The males appeared first on the flowers, near to the nesting site, and lived shorter than the females. The females started foraging in the 2nd to 3rd weeks of May and laid eggs in the 1st week of June. The adult phenology, egg placement, cell provision and larval feeding are described.
Keywords
Andrena patella phenology; behavior; development stages; pollen and nectar provision
Hrčak ID:
258467
URI
Publication date:
8.6.2021.
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