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Municipal authorities around the world have come to recognize the importance of making conservation and restoration a priority. Multiple urban restoration programs now foster insects and other pollinators through planting and sowing flowering plants, many of them within residential areas. But residents are not only walking next to pollinators visiting flowering sidewalk grass verges, they are also walking on top of them, nesting in the cracks and interstices of urban pavements. Combining morphological and molecular monitoring schemes, we conducted a survey of urban pavements at twelve locations across Berlin and found that pavements can foster a surprising number and quantity of soil dwelling insects—in particular wild bees and wasps. Pavements located within 200 m to an insect-friendly flower garden were covered with significantly more nests of wild bees and solitary wasps, and showed higher species richness of these groups, while the degree of sealed surfaces in the surrounding had no effect per se. This underlines the positive impact that insect-friendly gardens can have for pollinators and other insects, even in highly sealed areas. Also, it shows the potential of cobbled pavements as valuable nesting sites in highly sealed urban areas. We provide a list of 55 species of ground-nesting Hymenoptera found in Berlin pavements, including 28 species of wild bees and 22 apoid wasps. In our study, the molecular approach only detected three Hymenoptera species and did not yield comparable results to classical monitoring. Nonetheless, using eDNA methods might be a promising tool for further studying soil nesting insects in the future, and to gain insights into the web of life in urban pavements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Pedra das Letras archaeological site is located in the Barro village, a rural area in the municipality of Piripiri, Piauí, Brazil. The aim of this paper is to present the first data from the survey of this archaeological site, which has recently been registered at the IPHAN, as well as the main problems affecting its degradation. Pedra das Letras consists of a sandstone block containing a small elevated rock shelter and a side niche with red rock paintings. 58 paintings were found on the rock wall at the back of the shelter, and seven handprints have been identified in the side niche. The most frequent figure in the pictorial panels is the handprint, with 45 representations of this motif having been identified, made using different execution techniques. The remaining figures were attributed to the abstract class, some of them without a clearly defined outline. The main conservation problems include the advanced state of degradation of the sandstone, insect nests (such as termites and wasps), salt efflorescence, wear and tear caused by rainwater, and plants attached to the rock block. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Waste produced by living organisms is commonly disposed of as a prophylactic measure to avoid the spread of diseases and parasite infestation. For social insects, a proportion of workers is allocated to dispose the waste material outside the colony's nest. However, most nests of social insects have a single entrance, where a high flow of individuals may create congestion, potentially compromising normal foraging activities and colony growth/health. Here, we investigated how two species of stingless bees (Tetragonisca fiebrigi and Plebeia droryana) deal with waste disposal and regular foraging activities, and the impacts of these activities on traffic flow at nest entrances. First, we compared the average traffic of bees assigned to waste removal activities. Following this, we investigated probabilities for waste removal as bee traffic increases. Then, we estimated a cutoff value to predict the likelihood that waste removal activities will be intensified over foraging trips. We found that, on average, the number of bees performing waste removal activities was lower than those undertaking foraging trips for both species. In addition, we observed that as overall bee traffic increases, the number of workers engaged in waste removal reduces or even ceases. Our models indicate that bee traffic of approximately 15 individuals/time is a cutoff score, below which, colonies invest in waste removal and above which, foraging trips are increased. It suggests that both species use the entrances of their colonies in an optimized way by adjusting which tasks should be intensified as the traffic of individuals increases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Border crops can increase beneficial insect biodiversity within agricultural fields by supplementing insects with food and nesting resources. However, the effectiveness of border crops relies on insect movement between adjacent habitats and some insects might consider habitat boundaries as barriers. Therefore, understanding insect movement between habitats is needed to determine the effectiveness of border crops for ecosystem services such as pest control within agricultural habitats. Our objective was to compare ground beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) movement across soybean plots that were bordered by corn and grassland habitat to determine whether habitat boundaries were considered barriers of movement to predatory beetles. Using a grid of pitfall traps within these habitats, we conducted a mark, release, and recapture experiment to track and evaluate ground beetle movement patterns. We found that ground beetles stayed in the habitat of their release and that movement between habitats, despite the type of bordering habitat or type of edge, was uncommon. We also found that long-distance movement was rare as most beetles moved less than 5 m (regardless of release or recaptured habitat) and movement was perpendicular to habitat edges. These results suggest that any edge habitat, including agricultural–agricultural boundaries and natural–agricultural boundaries, are likely barriers to ground beetle movement. Therefore, in order for border crops to be effective in pest management by ground beetles, making habitat edges more permeable, especially using techniques such as edge softening, could promote cross-habitat movement and ultimately contribute to natural pest control in agricultural systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A retrospective observational study conducted by researchers from Ochsner Health System and Tulane University in New Orleans examined the reliability of patient history in cases of venom-induced anaphylaxis. The study found that patient history was useful in identifying the insect genus in 73% of cases, particularly for fire ants. The researchers suggest that relying on patient history could help streamline the selection of immunotherapy extracts and eliminate the need for testing, leading to earlier protection for patients. However, further research is needed to determine the generalizability of these findings to other geographical contexts. [Extracted from the article]

The decline of pollinator populations and associated ecosystem services has gained media coverage in recent years. Insect nesting boxes, sometimes called bee houses or insect hotels, are marketed as a way to support wild, native pollinator populations by providing additional nesting habitats, especially in urban contexts, but their actual value as such is controversial. This study aims at documenting the use of nesting boxes by cavity-nesting hymenopterans in urban habitats and assessing preferences in terms of materials and cavity diameter. We compare colonization rate, parasitism rate, and species assemblages between three habitats (green alleyways, community gardens and the Montréal Botanical Garden) and two materials (log and reed). Sixty nesting boxes were built using reeds and logs presenting narrow (3–5 mm wide) and wide (5–8 mm wide) cavities. 660 bees and wasps were collected during emergence in spring 2021, representing 14 families and 28 confirmed species, including six new records for the province of Québec. Species number was higher in the Botanical Garden. We found that native species were more diverse, but less abundant than introduced species. Material and cavity diameter were drivers of colonization rate and species richness, but not habitat. Colonization rate and species richness was higher in logs and in narrow cavities. Half of the nesting boxes were parasitized, but there was no difference between habitats in parasitism rate. Our results show that nesting boxes are used by species with complementary ecological roles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study records the first observation of a female Delta dimidiatipenne constructing its nest in Oran (NW-Algeria). The nest construction and developments thereafter were monitored every three days from July to September 2022 (70 days). Ultimately four female wasps were successfully emerged. This first record will be useful for future studies on the distribution, behaviour, ecology and conservation in this semi-arid region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Land use intensification may affect diversity, abundance, and functional morphological traits (FMT) related to dispersal, food acquisition, digestion, and nesting in some insects, possibly impacting their ecological role. Most studies of termites on the effects of afforestation focus on diversity and abundance, but changes in FMT have yet to be studied. Aim: To better understand the response mechanisms to land use intensification, we compared the FMT of the worker and soldier caste of Heterotermes tenuis among Pinus caribaea plantations of four different ages and gallery forests of the Colombian Orinoquía. Methodology: We measured thirty-eight FMTs in the worker and soldier castes of H. tenuis from gallery forests and pine plantations. Then, we used a Community-Weighted Mean (CWM), a PERMANOVA, and a nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) to estimate the possible effect of land use type on the FMT of both castes. We selected the FMTs with the lowest intraspecific coefficient of variation (CV) from each caste to compare their size among the land use types and pine plantation ages. Results: Land use type had a more significant impact on the FMT size of pine plantation workers than the age of the afforestation. FMT of the worker caste tends to be larger in gallery forests than in pine plantations, while the results were inconclusive for soldiers. Conclusion: The results suggested a homogenization mainly of the feeding FMT of the worker caste of H. tenuis in pine plantations associated with the increase in the softwood food resource of P. caribaea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nests of social insects have favorable characteristics for the maintenance of inquilines, including beetle species of various families. Although some species of stingless bees are hosts to beetles, this interaction has been little studied. Certain Scotocryptini beetles are inquilines of stingless bee nests and possess morphological adaptations to live in these environments. Here, we review the interactions between bees and beetles, specifically those of Neotropical stingless bees and Scotocryptini. In addition, we provide new data and an interaction network between the species of these taxa, and analyze their interaction frequency. Finally, we discuss the importance of taxonomic studies on scotocryptines to better understand the evolution of this type of association. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because the nematodes were identified as I Sheraphelenchus i sp., they were picked up individually using stainless-steel insect pins (Insect pin No. 00, Shiga Kontyu), and transferred to new MEA previously inoculated with I Pestalotiopsis i sp., which has been used as I S. sucus i food in the laboratory (Kanzaki, 2021). Keywords: distribution; geographical variation; new locality; phylogeny EN distribution geographical variation new locality phylogeny 713 716 4 07/06/23 20230601 NES 230601 The nematode genus I Sheraphelenchus i Nickle, 1970 (Tylenchomorpha: Aphelenchoididae) currently contains five species and most have been isolated from rotten plant material, especially fruit, vegetables and sap, I i.e. i , organic matter that is relatively carbohydrate-rich and fermented, and insects associated with these environments (Kanzaki, 2021). Of the five species, I Sheraphelenchus sucus i Kanzaki & Tanaka, 2013 has been found in Ibaraki (Kanzaki & Tanaka, 2013) and Kyoto (Kanzaki, 2021), Japan. [Extracted from the article]

In the summer of 1780, anti-Catholic riots led by Lord George Gordon in London left hundreds dead and stretches of the city burnt and destroyed. Eighteen months later, during a tense period in the city's history, London was invaded by brown-tail moth caterpillars. The metropolis and surrounding countryside disappeared behind the tents and nests of the insects, prompting widespread fear of famine and plague. With the memory of the riots still fresh, philanthropists such as Jonas Hanway and entomologists like William Curtis sought to assuage the public's fear, insisting that the brown-tail moth outbreak was part of the normal operations of nature, that the infestation bore no danger to the public, and that efforts to alarm the public or describe them as dangerous were contemptuous. At the same time, the conjurer and philosopher Gustavus Katterfelto, performing in the city, sought to profit from the public agitation, developing spectacles and performances that promised the insects would soon deliver famine, plague, and ruin on the city. This article examines the intersection of scientific authority, public fear, and performance, showing that the outbreak placed tremendous stress on the relationship between scientific authority and security in the metropolis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many insects rely on path integration to define direct routes back to their nests. When shuttling hundreds of meters back and forth between a profitable foraging site and a nest, navigational errors accumulate unavoidably in this compass- and odometer-based system. In familiar terrain, terrestrial landmarks can be used to compensate for these errors and safely guide the insect back to its nest with pin-point precision. In this study, we investigated the homing strategies employed by Camponotus fulvopilosus ants when repeatedly foraging no more than 1.25 m away from their nest. Our results reveal that the return journeys of the ants, even when setting out from a feeder from which the ants could easily get home using landmark information alone, are initially guided by path integration. After a short run in the direction given by the home vector, the ants then switched strategies and started to steer according to the landmarks surrounding their nest. We conclude that even when foraging in the close vicinity of its nest, an ant still benefits from its path-integrated vector to direct the start of its return journey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Animals living in nests leave their nests to search for food and often use constant routes. We tested how workers of ant colonies cope with pitfall traps placed on their way to food. Such pits can represent those dug by the ant-hunting pit-building antlions. The pitfall traps delayed the arrival at the food and increased the workers' tracks, but the ants improved in searching after accumulating experience. Furthermore, workers learned to avoid falling into the pits with experience. Removing or adding pits led to a fast change in the worker behavior and they ignored the past conditions, except for tracks that were longer than expected, after pitfall traps were removed. The ants fell much more frequently into pits closer to the arena entry, suggesting that such positions are especially profitable for sit-and-wait predators, ambushing such ants. Central-place foragers, such as social insects or nesting birds, repeatedly use the same routes from and to their nests when foraging for food. Such species forage more efficiently after accumulating experience. We examined, here, a relatively neglected aspect of such an improvement with experience—the avoidance of pitfall traps. Similar pits are built by antlions, which co-occur with the ants, but they also resemble other natural obstacles. We used the desert ant Cataglyphis niger, common in sandy habitats, and allowed it to forage for three successive runs for a food reward. Ant workers discovered food more slowly and in smaller numbers when pits were in their path. Pit presence also led to longer tracks by ants and slower movement. However, with experience, the ants fell into such pits less often and reached the food more quickly. To understand how past conditions affect current behavior, we investigated whether removing or adding pits led to a different result to that with a constant number of pits. Workers adjusted their behavior immediately when conditions changed. The only carryover effect was the longer tracks crossed by workers after pit removal, possibly resulting from the mismatch between the past and current conditions. Finally, the workers were more likely to fall into pits that were closer to the nest than those that were further away. This is a good example of the advantage that ambush predators can derive from ambushing their prey in specific locations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Red Imported Fire Ant (RIFA, Solenopsis invicta Buren) is one of the worst invasive species, particularly for the target of a national cost-shared eradication program. Rapid and accurate detection of RIFA has been highly urgent for the unmanned monitoring of the epidemic situation in recent years. In this study, an improved YOLOv5s model was proposed to detect and recognize the RIFA insects and nests using image processing. The specific procedure was as follows. Firstly, the image data of the RIFA nest was collected in the epidemic area of RIFA on the lawn, where the resolution ratio was compressed to 640×480 pixels. Data collection was carried out on the images of RIFA insects on a single RIFA nest. A total of 1400 images were collected as a data set. Labelling software was used to manually label the RIFA insects in the images. Specifically, the training label map was obtained using the minimum circumscribed rectangle containing all pixels of the RIFA insect. The labelled image data set was randomly divided into the training, test, and verification set, according to 8:1:1. Secondly, a compression operation was performed on the background area of the value component image of the RIFA nest in the lawn environment. The OTSU threshold was used to segment the difference images between the compressed and hue component. A super green model was selected to extract the difference that fused with the background area. An attention mechanism module was added to the backbone network of the YOLOv5s model. An improved YOLOv5s network was obtained to detect and recognize the RIFA insects. The reason was that the attention mechanism was commonly used to calibrate the channel and spatial location for the better performance of the improved model. Finally, the collected RIFA nests and RIFA insect images were tested on the detection and recognition model. The results showed that the highest Intersection over Union (IoU) of RIFA nest images in a lawn environment was 96.87%, where the samples with IoU higher than 90% accounted for 25%, the samples with IoU between 80%-90% accounted for 56.67%, the samples with IoU lower than 80% accounted for 18.33%, and the samples with IoU higher than 80% accounted for more than 81%. Additionally, the average detection speed of RIFA insect images reached 48.53 frames/s, the precision was 91.50%, the recall rate was 89.28%, the Average Precision (AP) was 95.40%, and the F1 comprehensive evaluation index was 90.38%. The performance of the imported YOLOv5s model was greatly improved, compared with the original. The finding can provide a strong reference for the intelligent detection of RIFAs in a lawn environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dermestidae (Bostrichoidea) exploit diverse food sources including fungal mycelia, but notably they as saprophagous, feeding on decomposing and dried flesh and keratin of animals and plants. Some of them live in spider webs, vertebrate and social insect nests, while others cause damage in human dwellings. Here, we use mitogenomics to reconstruct their phylogeny and evolution of life history strategies. We recovered serial splits of Orphilinae, Thorictinae + Dermestinae, Attageninae, Trinodinae and Megatominae, and we dated the origins of all subfamilies between the Middle Jurassic and Upper Cretaceous. Extant genera started their diversification in the Middle Cretaceous, except for Dermestes that originated in the Eocene. Mycetophagy, the likely feeding style of the common ancestor with Endecatomidae, was retained only by Orphilinae. Since the Late Jurassic, most dermestids have been saprophagous with the preference for desiccated tissue. We infer a scenario of feeding preferences from mycetophagy moving to saprophagy, always depending on food with low water content, followed by the shift from cryptic life in crevices and wood, to commensalism with social Hymenoptera, and ultimately feeding on angiosperm pollen as adults. The dependence on spider larders evolved already in the Early Cretaceous, but lineages with this specialized strategy remained species‐poor. We date the origin of exploitation of vertebrate carcasses to the Eocene when modern mammalian fauna became dominant. The diversification of Megatominae (62% of known dermestids) and Attagenus Latreille (17%) coincides with the radiation of angiosperms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pollinator welfare is a recognized research and policy target, and urban greenspaces have been identified as important habitats. Yet, landscape‐scale habitat fragmentation and greenspace management practices may limit a city's conservation potential. We examined how landscape configuration, composition, and local patch quality influenced insect nesting success across inner‐city Cleveland, Ohio (U.S.A.), a postindustrial legacy city containing a high abundance of vacant land (over 1600 ha). Here, 40 vacant lots were assigned 1 of 5 habitat treatments (T1, vacant lot; T2, grass lawn; T3, flowering lawn; T4, grass prairie; and T5, flowering prairie), and we evaluated how seeded vegetation, greenspace size, and landscape connectivity influenced cavity‐nesting bee and wasp reproduction. Native bee and wasp larvae were more abundant in landscapes that contained a large patch (i.e., >6 ha) of contiguous greenspace, in habitats with low plant biomass, and in vacant lots seeded with a native wildflower seed mix or with fine‐fescue grass, suggesting that fitness was influenced by urban landscape features and habitat management. Our results can guide urban planning by demonstrating that actions that maintain large contiguous greenspace in the landscape and establish native plants would support the conservation of bees and wasps. Moreover, our study highlights that the world's estimated 350 legacy cities are promising urban conservation targets due to their high abundance of vacant greenspace that could accommodate taxa's habitat needs in urban areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Miocene, as now, ant colonies that die or move up the stem as trees grow provide unoccupied cavities that bees, ants, coccids and others may exploit. Bees seem unequipped to displace ants; the I Plebeia i guards have only one small mandibular tooth and do not pursue intruders outside nests, although they are well defended by resinous bee nest entrance tubes that can be elongated. Mutualism within a parasitism within a mutualism: the bees and coccids that inhabit Cecropia ant-plants Because ants open holes to occupy I Cecropia i , and the bees have no means of doing this, bees depend upon myrmecophyte plants and the ants themselves. [Extracted from the article]

Copyright of Egyptian Journal of Botany is the property of Egyptian National Agricultural Library (ENAL) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

GLO:69VH/01jul21:bes21905-fig-0002.jpg PHOTO (COLOR): . gl Photo 2: Woodpecker or other predator damage to Cecropia trunks where bee and ant colonies live. The first known bees nesting in a preformed plant cavity (an ant-plant providing cavities with no known bee inhabitants or defensive ants) were found in the western Amazon. Their evolution as I Cecropia i bees coincided with the evolution of ant plants and remained prominent in two species of a tree clade often defended by highly aggressive I Azteca i ants against herbivores and competitors. [Extracted from the article]

Social insects' nests harbor intruders known as inquilines, 1 which are usually related to their hosts. 2,3 However, distant non-social inquilines may also show convergences with their hosts, 4,5 although the underlying genomic changes remain unclear. We analyzed the genome of the wingless and blind bee louse fly Braula coeca , an inquiline kleptoparasite of the western honey bee, Apis mellifera. 6,7 Using large phylogenomic data, we confirmed recent accounts that the bee louse fly is a drosophilid 8,9 and showed that it had likely evolved from a sap-breeder ancestor associated with honeydew and scale insects' wax. Unlike many parasites, the bee louse fly genome did not show significant erosion or strict reliance on an endosymbiont, likely due to a relatively recent age of inquilinism. However, we observed a horizontal transfer of a transposon and a striking parallel evolution in a set of gene families between the honey bee and the bee louse fly. Convergences included genes potentially involved in metabolism and immunity and the loss of nearly all bitter-tasting gustatory receptors, in agreement with life in a protective nest and a diet of honey, pollen, and beeswax. Vision and odorant receptor genes also exhibited rapid losses. Only genes whose orthologs in the closely related Drosophila melanogaster respond to honey bee pheromone components or floral aroma were retained, whereas the losses included orthologous receptors responsive to the anti-ovarian honey bee queen pheromones. Hence, deep genomic convergences can underlie major phenotypic transitions during the evolution of inquilinism between non-social parasites and their social hosts. [Display omitted] • The bee louse fly (Braula coeca) is a drosophilid inquiline of honey bee nests • B. coeca likely evolved from a sap-breeding ancestor associated with scale insects • B. coeca has a large genome, including a horizontal transposon transfer with bees • Many chemosensory and detoxification genes were lost, mirroring trends in bees Bastide et al. analyze the genome of the blind and wingless bee louse fly Braula coeca , an inquiline of the honey bee. B. coeca likely descends from a sap-breeder drosophilid ancestor. Inquilinism involves horizontal transposon transfer and convergent losses in relevant chemosensory and detoxification genes with the social host. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Woodpeckers are well-known for their audible percussive wood drilling. A new study shows that these birds benefit from their small size and key skull features to safely hammer at wood for insect food and nesting excavations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

First, although these deadwood "follies" are meant for carpenter bees and carpenter ants, the structures will be attractive to a diversity of other insect species in the area. This study creatively adds a whole new layer to the existing landscape design, as the deadwood features will act both as social spaces and as homes for the target insect species, carpenter bees and carpenter ants. [Extracted from the article]

Temperature is an important factor for invertebrates. Social insects build nests, which along with their ability to thermoregulate, provide shelter from extreme temperatures. However, for many species of ants the most common method of controlling the temperature inside a nest is to choose a suitable nest site. During a field experiment, the choice of nest site by the acorn ant Temnothorax crassispinus, a species which lives in coniferous and mixed forests, was studied. It typically occupies ephemeral nest sites and can move to a new nest site several times in one season. It was predicted that in early spring, dark coloured nest sites would be warmer and thus more frequently occupied by ant colonies. Contrary to this prediction, no difference was recorded in the frequency with which dark and lighter coloured nests were occupied. However, also in contrast to the prediction, in forest in early spring the difference in temperature inside different coloured nests was small. Thus, other features of nests, e.g., volume of cavity, are probably more important in determining nest site selection by this ant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1. The oil‐collecting bee Centris analis (Fabricius, 1804) is an important pollinator for the Neotropical region. The species can be attracted to nest in human‐made cavities. Such trap nests or insect hotels offer the opportunity to study the behaviour of populations in semifield conditions. 2. We studied a newly established trap nest aggregation of C. analis in Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil and tested the effect that differentially painted nesting options have on the rate of nest foundation, and on the ability of relocating the nest when returning from a foraging trip (homing behaviour). Moreover, we tested if the duration of foraging trips decreased with time. 3. We found that females preferred to nest in painted nests compared to unpainted nests, with blue nests being the most occupied ones, followed by purple, yellow, white, and green. Furthermore, bees improved their homing behaviour with time, however, nest colour did not seem to have an effect on this process. Moreover, we found that bees reduce the duration of their foraging trips with time. This could be an indicator of improved foraging efficiency through learning. 4. These findings could inform a new and fruitful line of research on the behaviour and ecology of trap nesting solitary bees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wild bees are in decline on a local to global scale. The presence of managed honey bees can lead to competition for resources with wild bee species, which has not been investigated so far for human-modified landscapes. In this study we assess if managed honey bee hive density influence nest development (biomass) of bumble bees, an important trait affecting fitness. We hypothesize that domesticated honey bees can negatively affect Bombus terrestris nest development in human-modified landscapes. In Flanders, Belgium, where such landscapes are dominantly present, we selected 11 locations with landscape metrics ranging from urban to agricultural. The bee hive locations were mapped and each location contained one apiary dense (AD) and one apiary sparse (AS) study site (mean density of 7.6 ± 5.7 managed honey bee hives per km2 in AD sites). We assessed the effect of apiary density on the reproduction of reared B. terrestris nests. Reared B. terrestris nests had more biomass increase over 8 weeks in apiary sparse (AS) sites compared to nests located in apiary dense (AD) sites. This effect was mainly visible in urban locations, where nest in AS sites have 99.25 ± 60.99 g more biomass increase compared to nest in urban AD sites. Additionally, we found that managed bumble bee nests had higher biomass increase in urban locations. We conclude that the density of bee hives is a factor to consider in regard to interspecific competition between domesticated honey bees and bumble bees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Termite nests may offer shelter to a number of species, alleviating the effects of environmental harshness. Certain elevational gradients provide variation on edaphoclimatic features, possibly generating harsh environmental conditions and boosting the number of immigrants seeking shelter within termitaria. Therefore, it is expected that metrics describing the community of termitaria cohabitants would correlate with elevation.To test this hypothesis, we surveyed the termitophiles inhabiting 20 nests of Nasutitermes coxipoensis along an elevational gradient in a tropical mountain in Brazil. We assessed the richness, abundance, and composition (β‐diversity) of termite nests' cohabitants, testing nest volume and elevational position as explanatory covariates.We found a positive correlation between the elevation at which termitaria were located and the richness and abundance of cohabiting termitophiles. Additionally, no correlation was found between elevational distance and dissimilarity of cohabitant communities between termitaria. Hence, the understanding that termitaria work as an 'oasis' of favorable microclimate is reinforced by our findings that the composition changed but was not correlated to elevation.In short, environmental harshness boosts the establishment of distinct species of termitophiles in termitaria and it does so regardless of the invading species identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From 2014 to 2021, 146 animal species were detected on a balcony nature garden (2 loggias) located on the 5th floor of a Munich apartment building with approximately 80 species of flowering wild plants annually. Of the 136 taxa of lower animals, 112 could be identified to species level. The most species-rich groups were flies and mosquitoes (29 species), bees (27), and spiders (19). Nesting aids (plant stems, wood) were colonized by 6 wild bee species, at least 2 digger wasps, a solitary vespid wasp (Vespidae) and some parasitoids (flies, wasps) living with aculeate hymenoptera. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The forewing venation homologies of magnifica Huang, Schubnel & Nel, 2020 (genus Legendreia) and its claimed bearing on the origin of the taxon Titanopterida are investigated. New data on two Permian stem-orthopterans, drewi Beckemeyer, 2011 (genus Loxoedischa) and reticulata Zalessky, 1934 (genus Iasvia), are provided to complement a sample of Permian and Triassic stem-orthopterans relevant to the case. Various forewing venation homology conjectures (HCs) are assembled in sets which themselves are contrasted using the minimum number of transformations they imply as an optimality criterion. None of the sets including the HC favoured in the original description of magnifica convincingly challenge the view that the Titanopterida derived from the Permian tcholmanvissiids, together forming the Pantcholmanvissiida. Moreover, the most parsimonious set involves an HC different from that provided in the original description of magnifica and well supported by morphological evidence. It predicts that the species is not particularly related to the Pantcholmanvissiida. Instead, further comparison reveals that it is a relative of caeliferans (grasshoppers and locusts), and, incidentally, the earliest one. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1. A diverse group of arthropods have adapted to the niches found inside the nests of social insects. Studies mostly focused on very specialised parasites residing in the brood chambers. However, the biology and strategies of symbionts occupying other niches, such as waste dumps, are underexplored. 2. Using a series of complementary experiments, this study demonstrated that the Mediterranean beetle Oochrotus unicolor has adapted to the waste dump niche found in the nests of Messor harvester ants. 3. Laboratory experiments confirmed field observations that the beetle preferentially resided in the refuse pits. Next, it was shown that the beetles readily consumed seeds and flour, whereas other food sources were poorly accepted and ant brood was never even eaten. The beetles did not elicit a strong aggression response in Messor ants, and they could tolerate very high densities of workers without clear costs. The beetles modestly mimicked the nest recognition cues of their Messor host. This imperfect mimicry could promote the adoption of the beetle in the ant colony, in concert with mechanical defence generated by its tank‐like body. Isolation of the beetle from its host did not significantly affect the beetle's chemical cuticular profile nor did it provoke elevated ant aggression, indicating that the beetle does not acquire the chemicals passively from its host. 4. This paper discusses the fact that waste dumps in social insect nests are hotspots for arthropod symbionts. It shows that symbionts in this niche may employ behavioural, trophic and chemical strategies that are different from those found in other niches of social insect nests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maladaptive behaviors reflecting a "bad" choice of habitat or resource have been widely documented; however, their persistence is often difficult to interpret. The potter wasp Delta dimidiatipenne constructs mud cells, in each of which it lays a single egg and places several caterpillars to feed its offspring. Preliminary observations indicated that a portion of these caterpillars were already parasitized and contained the offspring of the gregarious parasitoid Copidosoma primulum. As a result, the offspring of the potter wasp often failed to develop. To characterize the distribution, frequency and consequences of this intriguing phenomenon, we surveyed potter wasp nests throughout the Negev Desert. Evidence for parasitized caterpillars (mummies) was found in ~85% of the sampled sites, in ~20% of previous years' nest cells and in ~70–80% of the same year's cells. The survival and pupal mass of the potter wasp offspring were negatively associated with the presence and number of parasitized caterpillars inside the cells. We concluded that the collection of parasitized caterpillars by D. dimidiantipenne is frequent and costly. The persistence of this behavior may result from limited discrimination ability against parasitized prey by female potter wasps, or by their limited ability to exhibit choosiness under field conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most terrestrial animals live in natural atmospheric conditions, but some are also adapted to low oxygen (hypoxic) or high‐carbon dioxide (hypercapnic) conditions, such as in social insect nests, soil, caves, wood, and decaying material. Although it is possible that individuals adapt their behaviour to the environmental condition of their habitats, mating behaviour under ecologically possible ranges of CO2 has not been well studied. We compared walking activity, duration of mating behaviour, and sperm transfer ability in the West Indian sweet potato weevil, Euscepes postfasciatus Fairmaire (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), in high CO2 (10 000 p.p.m.) vs. normal atmospheric conditions (laboratory air, ca. 800 p.p.m.). We found that high CO2 enhanced walking activity and mounting frequency. Under such circumstances, we predicted that enhanced activities under a high‐CO2 environment would increase the risk of sperm competition, which induces an extended copulation period and an increase in sperm transfer. However, weevils shortened the mating period and did not alter their sperm transfer ability under high CO2. These findings are, as far as we are aware, the first report of the effect of ecologically relevant high CO2 on insect mating behaviour under mass‐rearing conditions. The effect of ambient conditions on mating behaviour and sperm transfer is discussed in relation to the intensity of female refusal behaviour directed against males. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When an ant dies within a nest, a worker ant carries its corpse away from the nest and drops it onto a pile known as an ant cemetery. These ant cemeteries form cluster patterns, and the dynamics of the corpse piles have been studied experimentally. The aim of the present study was to investigate how sensitivity to the presence of nest-mates would influence the corpse-carrying behaviour of ants, and how this would impact the dynamics of corpse pile clustering. This was achieved by developing an agent-based computational model in which simulated 'ants' (the agents) carry and drop 'corpses', resulting in the growth of the corpse pile. In the model, the probability of an ant dropping a corpse was tuned according to the presence or absence of nest-mates. The pile dynamics of the resulting model showed a partial match with the time series evolution of corpse piles observed with real ants in previous experimental studies. Although the switch of probabilities is a thought experiment, our results suggest that the corpse-carrying behaviour of worker ants might be influenced by interactions with their nest-mates because there is evidence that ant behaviour can be influenced by encounter rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A personal narrative is presented which explores the author's experiences of observing the Amegilla (Asaropoda) calva nestings with her husband in the Noccundra area in Queensland in September 2019.

As a social insect, termites have different castes and division of labor in a colony. Investigating the social behavior of subterranean termites is a challenge due to the cryptic nature and large colony size. Planar arenas are commonly used to study these termites under laboratory conditions, and have provided several advantages. However, there is no means to designate areas such as a royal chamber or central nest from foraging sites because reproductives can move freely across arenas. In this study, we examined the minimum passing size of different castes of Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki (Blattodea: Rhinotermitidae), in order to develop a reproductive excluder and correlated minimum passing size with head widths and heights. We found that workers and soldiers of C. formosanus were able to pass through a gap greater than or equal to 0.7 mm. Our results showed that there are significant differences in the head width and height based on castes and head height was more critical than head width to determine passing size. We further confirmed feasibilities of the reproductive excluders using incipient colonies of C. formosanus. Confining reproductives using the excluder in laboratory experiments will provide more chances to study the royal chamber and central nest independently of foraging sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerical analysis of spatial pattern is widely used in ecology to describe the characteristics of floral and faunal distributions. These methods allow attribution of pattern to causal mechanisms by uncovering the specific signatures of patterns and causal agents. For example, grassland‐gap patterns called fairy circles (FCs) in Namibia and Australia are characterized by highly regular and homogenous distributions across landscapes that show spatially periodic ordering. These FCs have been suggested to be caused by both social insects and competitive plant interactions. We compared eight Namibian and Australian FC patterns and also modeled FCs to 16 patterns of social insect nests in Africa, Australia, and America that include the most regular termite mound patterns known. For pattern‐process inference, we used spatial statistics based on both nearest‐neighbor analysis and neighborhood‐density functions. None of the analyzed insect‐nest distributions attain the spatially periodic ordering that is typical of FCs. The inherently more variable patterns of termite and ant nests are commonly attributable to well documented aspects of the faunal life‐history. Our quantitative evidence from drylands shows that the more variable insect‐nest distributions in water‐limited environments cannot explain the characteristic spatial signature of FCs. The analysis demonstrates the interpretation of scale‐dependent neighborhood‐density functions and that it is the identification of unique spatial signatures in regular patterns that need to be linked to process. While our results cannot verify a specific hypothesis, they support the hypothesis that FCs in these drylands are more likely an emergent vegetation pattern caused by strong plant competition for water. Key Points: Regular spatial patterns are common in ecology, but highly ordered patterns with spatial periodicity like fairy circles (FCs) are rareBased on 25 data sets worldwide, we show that typical termite and ant nest patterns in drylands are systematically less ordered than the FCsWe identify termites in drylands as an unlikely cause for periodic FC patterns and discuss plant self‐organization as an alternative cause [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social insects often exhibit striking altruistic behaviors, of which the most spectacular ones may be self-destructive defensive behaviors called autothysis, "self-explosion," or "suicidal bombing." In the social aphid Nipponaphis monzeni, when enemies damage their plant-made nest called the gall, soldier nymphs erupt to discharge a large amount of body fluid, mix the secretion with their legs, and skillfully plaster it over the plant injury. Dozens of soldiers come out, erupt, mix, and plaster, and the gall breach is promptly sealed with the coagulated body fluid. What molecular and cellular mechanisms underlie the self-sacrificing nest repair with body fluid for the insect society? Here we demonstrate that the body cavity of soldier nymphs is full of highly differentiated large hemocytes that contain huge amounts of lipid droplets and phenoloxidase (PO), whereas their hemolymph accumulates huge amounts of tyrosine and a unique repeat-containing protein (RCP). Upon breakage of the gall, soldiers gather around the breach and massively discharge the body fluid. The large hemocytes rupture and release lipid droplets, which promptly form a lipidic clot, and, concurrently, activated PO converts tyrosine to reactive quinones, which cross-link RCP and other macromolecules to physically reinforce the clot to seal the gall breach. Here, soldiers' humoral and cellular immune mechanisms for wound sealing are extremely upregulated and utilized for colony defense, which provides a striking case of direct evolutionary connection between individual immunity and social immunity and highlights the importance of exaggeration and cooption of preexisting traits to create evolutionary novelties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural plastic waste can alter wildlife diversity and behavior. Species survival will depend on their ability to adapt to new environmental conditions. In a seed-producing farm, a Megachile sp. nest made fully with plastic was found in a trap nest. This record represents the first one worldwide on revealing the use of plastic in the total construction of a bee nest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]