Meeting Abstract
Spiral-horned bees (Systropha curvicornis) are native to Southern Europe and the Middle East and are solitary bee specialists on the field bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis) flower. Systropha are unique for their foraging behavior and male dimorphisms such as the spiraled antenna. Previous research reports aspects of male behavior, nesting biology and foraging behavior of S. planidens; however, little is known of the closely-related species, S. curvicornis. Our goals in this study were to describe the population and foraging behavior of S. curvicornis. We conducted three field experiments in two populations separated by less than 1 km in Çanakkale, Turkey. In Experiment 1, we measured nectar production, visitation on field bindweed from antithesis (~07:30) to flower closing (~13:30), and observed different levels of natural competition. In experiment 2, we determined the neighborhood area and population size of the two populations of S. curvicornis by conducting a mark-recapture study. In experiment 3, we studied the foraging behavior using a flight cage with a grid to estimate number of landings and distance traveled of individuals. The mark-recapture study showed a neighborhood range with less than a 30 meters radius and both populations to be fewer than 200 individuals. Although population dynamics were similar, C. arvensis at one site produced substantially more nectar than the other site. Variation in foraging behavior of individual S. curvicornis may be attributed to sex and presence or absence of competition from other pollinators.
