P. F. Torchio and V. J. Tepedino.
Parsivoltinism in Three Species of Osmia Bees.
Psyche 89:221-238, 1982.

Full text (searchable PDF, 1072K)
Durable link: http://psyche.entclub.org/89/89-221.html

The following unprocessed text is extracted from the PDF file, and is likely to be both incomplete and full of errors. Please consult the PDF file for the complete article.

PARSIVOLTINISM IN THREE SPECIES OF OSMIA BEES* BY P. F. TORCHIO AND V. J. TEPEDINO
Bee Biology & Systematics Laboratory,
Agricultural Research Service, USDA,
Utah State University, UMC 53,
Logan, Utah 84322
Individuals of most insect species follow a relatively inflexible tempo of immature development and adult emergence that includes a single period of diapause in one generation per year at a specific stage in the life cycle. A few species depart from this pattern in that a small proportion of individuals of an age cohort require an addi- tional year or more to complete development to the adult stage (Waldbauer 1978, Beck 1980). Among bees, for example, there are brief reports of delayed emergence for several species (Davidson 1896, MacSwain 1958, Krombein 1967, Torchio 1975, Parker 1980, Rust 1980) but none of these studies provides quantitative evidence to demonstrate that delayed emergence is an integral part of the life cycle.
In this study we supply quantitative evidence to document pat- terns of delayed emergence in three species of megachilid bees (Osmia montana Cresson, 0. caiifornica Cresson, 0. iridis Cocke- re11 and Titus). Individuals of these species complete development in either one or two years, i.e., the emergence pattern of each age cohort is bimodal. Waldbauer (1978) used the term "type c" to describe bimodal ahd polymodal emergence patterns in which the peaks of emergence of an age cohort occur in different years. Here we introduce the more descriptive term, "parsivoltine", to refer to this phenomenon. "Parsi" is adapted from the Latin pars for part or partial; -voltine, from the Italian volta for time or cycle is used in its usual entomological sense, as generations (cycles) per year. Our study addresses the following questions: 1) Does the propor- tion of one- and two-year individuals in a cohort differ between the two years of study and/or between the two sampling sites? 2) Is there an association between sex and time required to complete development? 3) How are one- and two-year forms distributed *Manuscript received by the editor September 9. 1982



================================================================================

Psyche
[Vol. 89
between and within individual nests? 4) Are inter-individual differ- ences in the time required to complete development due to environ- mental factors or to a genetic polymorphism, or both? The three Osmia species are restricted to the western U.S. where they are sympatric and at least partially synchronic (late spring- early summer). Each nests gregariously in pre-existing holes, usually in wood. The biologies of 0. montana and 0. californica are sum- marized by Rust (1974); the biology of 0. iridis is currently under study (Torchio, unpub.). Briefly, nests of each species are composed of a linear series of cells. Each cell is provided with pollen, nectar and an egg; cells are separated by partitions constructed of macer- ated leaf material (0. montana, 0. iridis) or mud mixed with macer- ated leaf material (0. californica), and nests are plugged with one or more partitions. Osmia montana and 0. californica are oligoleges of the Compositae; 0. iridis is restricted to a non-composite host plant. Nests of these Osmia species were obtained from trap blocks placed at two field locations (Torchio 1976). Trap blocks of sugar pine contained 49 drilled holes to accommodate paper soda straws measuring 14.5 cm long and 7 mm inside diameter. One hundred nest blocks were placed at each of two study sites during both study years (1 979- 1980).
The Faust trapping site was located 42 km south of Logan, Cache Co., Utah at 1800 m elevation. This location is on a hillside with a SW exposure and is covered by large stands of mature aspen (Popu- lus tremuloides Michx.) trees surrounded by open, grassland mead- ows. The Mendon site is located 24 km west of Logan at 1500 m elevation on a hillside having a SE exposure. Solid stands of maple (Acer glabrum Torr.) or aspen trees surrounded by open meadows were characteristic of the area.
During both study years, nest blocks were attached individually to standing trees during mid-May prior to Osmia flight and returned to the laboratory in early July where they remained at room illumi- nation and temperature. All nests were dissected in early September; individual cocoons were opened to determine sex ratios of adults (one-year forms) and position of larvae (two-year forms) in nests. Larvae of two-year forms were weighed on an electrobalance (0.1



================================================================================

Torchio & Tepedino
rnontono a
1979 80 79 80
FAUST
MEN DON
Osmia Bees
colifornica
1979 80 79 8 0
FAUST MENDON
Figure 1. Percent of total offspring of 0. moniana (a) and 0. californica (b) that were one-year forms (solid lines), and males (dashed line) at two northern Utah sites over two years. Dotted and dashed line represents the expected sex ratio as percent males.
mg) and all individuals were then inserted into clear, #000 gelatin capsules. Capsules were then placed in a constant 4 degrees C temperature cabinet on September 30 of each study year and trans- ferred to a 26 degrees C temperature cabinet on June 1 of the subsequent year. A photoperiod of OL:24D was maintained throughout these treatments. Capsules containing two-year forms (now adults) were removed from the temperature cabinet on August 30 and reweighed.
Osmia rnontana
Almost 1100 nests were available for examination from the four site-years of sampling (Table 1). Nest utilization was higher in 1979 than in 1980 at both sites, and higher at Faust than at Mendon in both years.
There were differences between sites and years in the proportion of offspring that were one-year forms (Fig. la). At Faust a signifi- cantly higher proportion of one-year forms was produced in 1979



================================================================================

224 Psyche [vo~. 89
than in 1980 (X2 = 19.1, P < 0.001) whereas at Mendon a signifi- cantly higher proportion of one-year cells were produced in 1980 than in 1979 (X2 = 6.3, P < 0.025). However, the Faust site yielded a significantly greater proportion of one-year cells than did Mendon during both years (1979, X2 = 214.1, P< 0.001; 1980, X2 = 47.4, P < 0.00 1).
An association between sex and the number of years required to complete development was found (Table 1). For all site-years, there were significantly more males than females among one-year forms, and fewer than expected males among two-year forms (Faust 1979, X2 = 9.8, P < 0.005; 1980, X2 = 22.6, P < 0.001; Mendon 1979, X2 = 13.9, P < 0.001; 1980 X2 = 8.8, P < 0.005). Thus the sex ratio (SIQ) of one-year forms was always higher than that of two-year forms. However, the sex ratio of one- or two-year forms (taken separately) was not always the same from year to year or from site to site. At Faust the proportion of both one- and two-year males decreased in 1980 (Table 1; one-year forms, X2 = 7.4, P < 0.01; two-year forms, X2 = 11.9, P < 0.01) and, as a consequence, the combined sex ratio of offspring declined significantly from 1.3 (1979) to 0.96 (1980) (X2 = 21.4, P < 0.001). Conversely, no such changes occurred at Men- don (P > 0.75 all comparisons).
The incidence of one- and two-year forms appears to be con- trolled by a genetic polymorphism rather than by the action of environmental variables upon individual offspring. If environmen- tal cues such as photoperiod, thermoperiod, oxygen levels, etc. act either indirectly on the mother or directly on the progeny to deter- mine the developmental fate of offspring, then a consistent pattern of distribution of one- and two-year forms in mixed nests (those containing both one- and two-year forms) should be evident. To examine this possibility we classified mixed nests as follows: 1) one- year forms in inner cells; two-year forms in outer cells; 2) a reversal of 1; 3) a double switch, i.e., nests having one-year forms positioned as bottom and top cells with a two-year form between; or, two-year forms sandwiching a one-year form. Only mixed nests that could be categorized with surety were counted; thus, nest totals in Table 2 are fewer than totals listed in Table 1
because some nests were not
counted. Such a categorization of nests assumes that all nestmates are siblings. In general this is a valid assumption; supercedure of the nest of one female by another female is an infrequent occurrence.



================================================================================

Table 1. Number of live one- and two-year male and female offspring of Osmia montana reared from two sites in two years. Offspring are grouped by nest type, i.e., 1-yr nests contained only I-yr offspring etc. SR = sex ratio. Number of dead cells shown in parenthesis next to total live cells.
No. No. 1-yr. No. 2-yr. No.
Site, year and nest type nests 8 $ SR (5 $ SR cells Faust 1979
1 -yr 236 554
2-yr 132 -
mixed 189 272
totals 557 826
totals both forms (5 (5 1 168, Q $903, SR 1.29 Faust 1980
1 -yr 136 327
2-yr 6 1 -
mixed 146 30 1
totals 343 628
totals both forms 8 (5942, Q $977, SR 0.96 Mendon 1979
1 -yr 15 30
2-yr 83 -
mixed 75 114
totals 173 144
totals both forms 8 (5345, Q $284. SR 1.21 Mendon 1980
1 -yr 12 30
2-yr 12 -
mixed 38 86
totals 62 116
totals both forms 8 835, Q Q 186, SR 1.26



================================================================================

226 Psyche [vo~. 89
Table 2. Transitions within mixed nests between one- and two-year forms for Osmia moniana and californica. Transition from inner one-year forms to outer two year forms = 1-2 yr and similarly for 2-1 yr. Double switch signifies the transitions 1-2- 1 yr or 2- 1-2 yr.
Osmia moniana Osmia californica
Double Double
1-2 yr 2-1 yr switch 1-2 yr 2-1 yr switch Faust 1979 22 16 47 0 1 1
1980 6 3 1 63 5 4 52
Totals 28 47 110 5 5 5 3
Mendon 1979 11 17 32 5 2 1 12
1980 3 12 17 3 9 22
Totals 14 29 49 8 30 34
For example, in a study of marked 0. lignaria only 5 of 11 1 nests (same type as used here) made in a greenhouse contained offspring produced by more than one female (Tepedino and Torchio 1982b). Distribution of one- and two-year forms in mixed nests is sum- marized in Table 2. Nests with double switches were more numerous than those in the other two categories combined in all site years; transitions from two-year forms in inner cells to one-year forms in outer cells were about twice as common as the reverse situation. Thus, factors such as photo- and thermoperiods, which act on the maternal genotype to induce diapause in the offspring of other spe- cies of Hymenoptera (Parker and Tepedino 1982), do not seem to influence the determination of one- or two-year forms in 0. montana.
The interspersion of one- and two-year forms in mixed nests creates the potential for fratricide. Observations of trap-nests both in field and laboratory demonstrated that one-year forms destroy any two-year larval siblings positioned above them in the nest when they emerge (Torchio, unpub.). We therefore examined the data for mixed nests to determine the number of surviving and "doomed" two-year offspring by sex. The category doomed was assigned to any two-year form with a one-year form between it and the inner limit of the nest. All two-year forms without one-year forms posi- tioned below them were classified as surviving. Our estimates of the percent doomed two-year offspring should be regarded with cau-



================================================================================

Torchio & Tepedino - Osmia Bees
tion. Although all three species nest in pre-existing holes in dead wood, in natural situations it may sometimes be possible for emer- gent one-year adults to gain egress without destroying their two- year siblings. For example, if the nest is in a rotting log emergent forms may be able to chew around nestmates. Thus, the estimates given here should be regarded as maximums. The results of these comparisons (Table 3) demonstrate that a large portion of two-year forms was doomed in each site-year (range 40.5-61 -3%). This mortality would be in addition to any losses due to enemies or developmental arrest. It is also interesting to note that in each site-year a significantly lower proportion of two-year
females than males would be destroyed by their siblings (X2 tests, P 4 0.001 all cases). This is because 0. montana, like most bees that construct nests in pre-existing holes (including 0. californica, 0. iridis), deposit female eggs in cells in the lower reaches of the nest and males in outer cells (Krombein 1967). Thus, the probability that a two-year male larva will be destroyed by an emerging sibling adult is greater than for a two-year female.
Table 3.
"Doomed" offspring by sex from mixed nests of Osmia montana and 0. californica.
Males Females Totals
Species, % % %
Site, Year N Doomed N Doomed N Doomed
0. montana
Faust 1979
1980
Totals
Mendon 1979
1980
Totals
0. californica
Faust 1979
1980
Totals
Mendon 1979
1980
Totals




================================================================================

Psyche
[Vol. 89
Osrnia californica
Almost 500 nests were recovered in the four-site years of sampling (Table 4). Nest utilization was unchanged at Mendon during both years, but a substantial increase was recorded at Faust from 1979 to 1980.
The proportion of one-year cells declined significantly at both sites from 1979 to 1980 (Fig. I b, Table 4; Faust X2 = 22 1.5, P 4 0.00 1; Mendon X2 = 30.0, P < 0.00 1). In agreement with results for 0. montana, the proportion of one-year forms produced at Faust was significantly higher than that produced at Mendon during both years (1979, X2 = 92.5, P4 0.001; 1980, X2 = 5.7, P < 0.025). As with 0. montana, there was an association between sex and number of years to complete development (Table 4). For all site- years (except Faust 1979 for which insufficient numbers of two-year forms were available for statistical tests) there was a higher propor- tion of males among one-year forms than among two-year forms when cells from mixed nests only were considered (Faust 1980, X2 = 4.3, P< 0.05; Mendon 1979, X2 = 20.2, P < 0.001; 1980, X2 = 10.2, P < 0.005). When all cells were considered, the sex ratio of one-year forms was always higher than that of two-year forms; but only one of three comparisons was significant (Faust 1980, X2 = 2.4, P > 0.10; Mendon 1979, X*= 11.8, P>0.001; 1980, X* =2.0, P>0.10). Between-year differences in the proportion of males and females among one- and two-year forms at each site were less evident than for 0. montana (Table 4). At Mendon the combined sex ratio of offspring declined significantly from 4.2 (1979) to 1.8 (1980) (X2 = 30.0, P 4 0.00 1) but no such change was evident at Faust (X2 = 0.0, P > 0.90). The decline in the sex ratio at Mendon was due to a significantly greater proportion of female progeny produced in 1980 for both one-year (X2 = 15.5, P < 0.001) and two-year forms (X2 = 7.5, P > 0.01). These results are the reverse of those found for 0. montana.
The distribution of one- and two-year forms within mixed nests were similar to results obtained for 0. montana (Tables 2,4). Thus, nests having double switches were most numerous and transitions from one- (inner cells) to two-year forms (outer cells) were inter- mediate.
As with 0. montana, a substantial proportion of two-year forms were "doomed" (range 37.0-56.5%, Table 3) because cells contain- ing one-year forms were often constructed lower in the nest. The



================================================================================

Table 4.
Number of live one- and two-year male and female offspring of Osmia cal$ornica reared from two sites in two years. Offspring grouped as in Table 1. SR = sex ratio. Number of dead cells shown in parenthesis next to total live cells. No. No. 1-yr. No. 2-yr. No.
Site, year and nest type nests 8 $ SR 8 $ SR cells Faust 1979
1 -yr 49 123
40 3.1
- - - 163
2-yr
3 -
- -
2 1 2.0 3
mixed
6 7
1 7.0
5 2 2.5 15
totals 5 8 130 4 1 3.2 7 3 2.3 18 l(59)
totals both forms QS 137, QQ 44, SR 3.11 Faust 1980
I -yr
28 100
43 2.3
- - - 143
2-yr
75 -
- -
372 133 2.8 505
mixed
119 239 5 2 4.6
207 69 3.0 567
totals 222 339 95 3.6 579 202 2.9 12 15(408) totals both forms
918, QQ 297, SR 3.09
Mendon 1979
1 -yr
3 2 136
28 4.9
- - - 1 64
2-yr
29 -
- -
8 5 18 4.7 103
mixed
48 95 9 10.6 79 40 2.0 223
totals 1 09 23 1 37 6.2 164 58 2.8 490( 1 56) totals both forms $8 395, QQ 95, SR 4.16 Mendon 1980
I -yr
12 3 1
19 1.6
- - - 50
2-yr
46 -
- -
149 7 1 2.1 220
mixed
39 6 1 2 1 2.9
49 47 1 .O 178
totals 97 92 40 2.3 198 118 1.7 448(344) totals both forms $6 290, QQ 158, SR 1.84



================================================================================

230 Psyche [vo~. 89
proportion of "doomed" two-year females was also significantly lower than for that of two-year males (Faust 1980, X* = 53.2, P < 0.001; Mendon 1979, X* = 9.8, P < 0.005; 1980 X2 = 30.5, P < 0.001).
Osmia iridis
Trap-nests were utilized by 0. iridis only in 1979 (Table 5). Of the 83 nests recovered, 54 contained one-year forms exclusively; four nests contained two-year forms; and the remaining 25 nests were mixed. Although relatively few two-year individuals were produced (1 3.1 %), the proportion of two-year females recovered was greater than that of one-year females (mixed nests, X* = 16.1, P < 0.001, total nests, X2 = 9.0, P < 0.005, both sites combined). Unlike other Osmia species studied, the predominant transition category of 0. iridis in mixed nests was from the two-year form (inner cells) to the one-year form (outer cells) 16 of 25 nests). There were relatively few nests with either double switches (5) or with transitions from one-year (inner) to two-year (outer) forms (4). The tabulation of "doomed" individuals in mixed nests demon- strated that two-year males were at greater risk than two-year females (X2 = 6.0, P < 0.025).
Expected and observed sex ratio:
We calculated the expected equilibrium sex ratio (S/Q) for each species on the basis of male and female live weights (Table 6) as described previously for 0. lignaria propinqua (Torchio and Tepe- dino 1980). Two interesting points emerged from this analysis. First, for each species, the expected sex ratio was the same regardless of whether larval or adult weights were used. Second, the expected sex ratios of these three species were very similar to each other and to 0.1 propinqua (Torchio and Tepedino 1980). Apparently the opti- mal size ratio between females and males is the same for many Osmia species that nest in similar substrates. When the expected and observed sex ratios were compared, con- sistent biases emerged: For 0. montana the observed sex ratio was significantly biased towards females for all site-years (P < 0.005 or less, all tests). In contrast, observed sex ratios for both 0. cali- fornica and 0. iridis were generally biased towards males (P <0.001 or less, all but 0. californica Mendon 1980). In addition, there was



================================================================================

Torchio & Tepedino - Osmia Bees
ya
-
2 S
J S ? >,.-
L C ! . , E
å




================================================================================

232 Psyche [VOI. 89
Table 6. Mean fresh weights (mg) of adults and larvae of three species of Osmia. Weights for 0. montana and californica are for two-year forms, those for 0. iridis for one-year forms. N = sample size, ESR = expected sex ratio (m). Adults larvae % wgt. loss
s 9 8 9 8 9
montana
live wgt
71.9 125.3
93.1 161.7 23.0 22.6
SD 16. I 16.9
19.2 20.3 3.0 2.1
N
2 1 34 2 1 34
2 1 34
ESR 1.74 1.74
californica
live wgt
73.3
121.2
94.1 156.6 22.0 22.8
k SD 14.5 19.7 18.6
21.8
4.3 3.5
N 23 16 23 16 23 16
ESR 1.65 1.66