Notes on the nest architecture of Centris (Centris) caxiensis Ducke (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in an urban dry forest fragment in northeastern Brazil

Abstract

We described the nest architecture and the brood cell morphology of the oil-collecting bee Centris caxiensis. The nest is a single and unbranched tunnel measuring between 37 and 49 cm in length slant obliquely into the ground. There were one or two brood cells at the end of the gallery oriented vertically. The brood cells are urn-shaped with a plug containing a central hollow process. The nest morphology and the brood cells followed a similar pattern to the other ones reported for species of the subgenus Centris s. str.

Keywords

• caatinga
• ground-nesting
• oil-collecting bee
• solitary bee