Tuesday, 12 December 2023

To Grow a Right-Sized Bee, Give It a Right-Sized Nest

Overhead view of a dark-colored bee with thin yellowish-white stripes peering into one of several narrow holes arranged in rows in a wood block. Some of the holes have yellowish-white material in them while others are empty. The hole immediately below the bee is filled with the material and capped at the end.

This post To Grow a Right-Sized Bee, Give It a Right-Sized Nest appeared first on Entomology Today - Brought to you by the Entomological Society of America.

In solitary bees, adult size is influenced by the size of the nesting cavities in which they develop. A new study by researchers at North Dakota State University shows how nest boxes with cavities of varying diameters affect growth in alfalfa leafcutting bees. Cavities of 8 millimeters produced the biggest bees, but cavities of 7 millimeters produced higher quantities of bees.

The post To Grow a Right-Sized Bee, Give It a Right-Sized Nest appeared first on Entomology Today.



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