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Back to List of Background & Research Materials Whitfield, J.B. & S.A. Cameron COMPARATIVE
NOTES ON HYMENOPTERAN PARASITOIDS IN BUMBLE BEE AND HONEY BEE COLONIES
(HYMENOPTERA: APIDAE) REARED ADJACENTLY. Entomological News 104(5):
240 - 248. 1993. Abstract. Colonies of both honey bees and bumble bees are often infested by parasitoids as well as by wax moths from several genera of the family Pyralidae. The nest associates in turn are parasitized by several groups of hymenopteran parasitoids. Colonies of bumble bees raised in close proximity to honey bee colonies provided an unanticipated opportunity to observe parasitoids that might be able to switch from honey bees or their nest associates, to bumble bees or their nest associates, and vice versa. This natural experiment indicated that none of the lepidopteran nest associates were shared between both honey bee and bumble bee colonies. However, most of the hymenopteran parasitoids of Apis nest associates were found to parasitize bumble bee nest associates. Diagnostic illustrations of some of the parasitoids from the apid colonies are provided to facilitate future observations on these species. Melittobia Species Mentioned. Melittobia chalybii. Comments. Table 1 shows lepidopteran nest associates and bee and moth parasitoids, including Melittobia chalybii, in Columbus, Ohio. It also indicates number of parasitized hosts by M. chalybii. Figures 1 and 2 show larvae, pupae and adults of Melittobia on pupae of Bombus bimaculatus inside pupal cases. Natural infestations of M. chalybii were found in old Bombus bimaculatus and B. impatiens nests, but not in honey bee nests, from colonies established near one another. |