Abstract

DALMAZZO, Milagros. Diversity and biological aspects of wild bees in an urban and a natural environment in the central region of Santa Fe, Argentina. Rev. Soc. Entomol. Argent. [online]. 2010, vol.69, n.1-2, pp.33-44. ISSN 1851-7471.

The purpose of this contribution is to present a survey of wild bees in the central region of Santa Fe, and to compare the diversity and biological aspects of the bee communities at two different environments of the same region. Bees were surveyed at the ecological reserve Reserva Universitaria "Escuela Granja" in the locality of Esperanza, and at an urban area in the locality of Susana, both in the Espinal Phytogeographic Province. Bees were sampled from October to December 2004 and from January to March 2005, recording their plant associations. A total of 277 specimens were collected, belonging to 62 species (27 genera in 5 families). The rarefaction curves indicate a higher rate of species accumulation for the ecological reserve; the Shannon diversity index was 3.25 for the ecological reserve and 2.64 for the urban area. In order to compare the composition of the bee communities at the two sites, the bees were classified into three categories: degree of specialization in the use of floral resources, nesting substrate, and social behavior. It was observed that specialized bees who nest in the soil showed an association with the natural environment while the generalist species who nest in pre-existing cavities showed an association with the urban environment. No association was found between type of social behavior and type of environment.

Keywords : Wild bees; Biodiversity; Habitat comparison; Checklist; Santa Fe.

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