G. it. Ent., 10 (50): 155-158
September 2002
Biologia di Xylocopa (Xylocopa) violacea (Linneo, 1758)
(Hymenoptera, Apidae, Xylocopini):
studio preliminare sull'approvvigionamento
delle celle pedotrofiche
di
SALVATORE VICIDOMINI
Abstract - Biology of Xylocopa (Xylocopa) violacea (Linnaeus, 1758) (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Xylocopini): preliminary study on the supplying of the pedotrophic cells - To establish whether the supplying of the pedotrophic cells by Xylocopa violacea is random or not was the aim of this contribution. The colour and position of the pollen pastes from 37 nests were recorded. The average number of colour interruptions in the pollen pastes per nest resulted 1.811 (mode: 1; 0.240 per cell), 44% lower than the random supplying theoretical value (3.243). Only 2 nests out of 37 (5.4%) showed an interruption number equal to the theoretical maximum one. There were not sex linked differences in the pollen paste colour. Results show that X. violacea had not a random behaviour in supplying the cells.
