Meeting Abstract
We examined the degree of movement of carpenter bees (Xylocopa spp.) and a megachilid (leafcutting) bee species that visit chasteberry (Vitex agnus-castus) and Greek horehound (Ballota acetabulosa), respectively, on the Greek island of Lesvos. Individual bees were marked with enamel paint and color-coded in a manner that identified them with their respective origins of collection (flowering plants). After release, sampling collections were subsequently repeated over a comparable period of time. Rates of return were calculated for each plant-pollinator system as an estimate of fidelity by the pollinator species to specific plants. In the case of the chasteberry, white and blue morphs of the bushes of this species were specifically compared with one another to detect preference by carpenter bees to the different color morphs. However, return rates were too low to detect significant differences, although bees in the Greek horehound – megachilid system revealed evidence of fidelity to certain plant locations. Our results most likely reflect differences in foraging scale wherein the relatively large-bodied and strong-flying carpenter bees are able to more easily traverse the greater distances required to visit the widespread chasteberry bushes across the island; megachilid bees, perhaps due to range limitations imposed by flight capability, remained more consistent in re-visiting Greek horehound patches in the immediate vicinity of nesting females. These findings have implications for understanding the results of sister (pan trap) studies that demonstrate altitudinal bias among bee species.
