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Abstract
Pollen analysis of the larval food supply is an important tool for identifying the plants that provide the floral resources used by bees. The present study documents the pollen sources consumed by larvae of the solitary bee Tetrapedia diversipes in a tropical agroecosystem. A total of 60 pollen types were recorded with three families being the most important. Euphorbiaceae (60.5%), Malpighiaceae (16.8%) and Asteraceae (12.2%) pollen had the greatest representation in the samples examined. The pollen of Dalechampia dioscoreifolia predominated in the diet of the larvae of T. diversipes (RF = 56.35%) and indicates the importance of this plant in maintaining populations of this solitary bee.
Acknowledgements
The authors thank the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development, Brazil (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, CNPq, Proc. 303237/2010-4 and 06403/2012-9), the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) for scholarships, and Paulino P. Oliveira (UEFS) and Marcos C. Dórea for help with the identification of the pollen types.