Fruits of Mimosa foliolosa (Fabales: Fabaceae) as sleeping shelter for Megachile (Pseudocentron) botucatuna (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae).
Several plant parts or organs are often used by insects for aggregation and even as resting areas. We first report the use of fruits of the legume Mimosa foliolosa pachycarpa as a night shelter for Megachile (Pseudocentron) botucana Schrottky (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) in Serra do Cipó, southeastern Brazil. Only a single bee was found per fruit, in 86 fruits out of 1,003 fruits opened. The present findings augmented the occurrence of the phenomenon among bees, which is new to the harsh mountaintop environments in the Brazilian rupestrian fields.
Ecologia Evolutiva & Biodiversidade, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Univ Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil. gw.fernandes@gmail.com
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D000818:Animals; D007887:Fabaceae; D005260:Female; D005638:Fruit; D006927:Hymenoptera / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D009425:Nesting Behavior