Comparative biology of four Rhodanthidium species (Hymenoptera, Megachilidae) that nest in snail shells

Some species of two tribes (Anthidiini and Osmiini) of the bee family Megachilidae utilize empty gastropod shells as nesting cavities. While snail-nesting Osmiini have been more frequently studied and the nesting biology of several species is well-known, much less is known about the habits of snail-nesting Anthidiini. We collected nests of four species of the genus Rhodanthidium (R. septemdentatum, R. sticticum, R. siculum and R. infuscatum) in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Catalonia (Spain) and Sicily (Italy). We dissected these nests in the laboratory and documented their structure, pollen sources and nest associates. The four species usually choose large snail shells. All four species close their nests with a plug made of resin, sand and fragments of snail shells. However, nests of the four species can be distinguished based on the presence (R. septemdentatum, R. sticticum) or absence (R. siculum, R. infuscatum) of mineral and plant debris in the vestibular space, and the presence (R. septemdentatum, R. infuscatum) or absence (R. sticticum, R. siculum) of a resin partition between the vestibular space and the brood cell. Rhodanthidium septemdentatum, R. sticticum and R. siculum usually build a single brood cell per nest, but all R. infuscatum nests studied contained two or more cells. For three of the species (R. siculum, R. septemdentatum and R. sticticum) we confirmed overwintering in the adult stage. Contrary to R. siculum, R. septemdentatum and R. sticticum do not hide their nest shells and usually use shells under the stones or hidden in crevices within stone walls. Nest associates were very infrequent. We only found two R. sticticum nests parasitized by the chrysidid wasp Chrysura refulgens and seven nests infested with pollen mites Chaetodactylus cf. anthidii. Our pollen analyses confirm that Rhodanthidium are polylectic but show a preference for Fabaceae by R. sticticum.

Capitalism in Central Norrland, Sweden, during the Iron Age

The authors challenge the opinion that a traditional hunter-gatherer culture existed during the Iron Age in the forested interior of central Norrland (En. Northern Sweden). Two new and several earlier pollen analyses together with osteological finds from domestic animals confirm that extensive forest grazing was widespread throughout the interior. The distribution of iron slag deposits suggests that iron production is a key factor to understanding the society in the area. The modes of subsistence, the low-technology ironwork, and a common conceptual world as reflected in the graves on the coast and in the interior can be viewed as elements of an early capitalistic system.

Kazdağları Bölgesi Salgı Ballarının Antioksidan ve Antimikrobiyal Özellikleri

In this study, antioxidant capacity and antimicrobial effect values of honeydew honey obtained from Ida Mountains region being rich in biodiversity were determined. According to the results of electrical conductivity and pollen analyses; 25 honeydew honey samples collected from the Ida Mountains region of the towns of Çanakkale province; Ayvacık, Bayramiç, Çan and Yenice. DPPH% antioxidant capacity values of honeydew honeys were found out to vary between 41.50% - 78.98%. It was also determined that some honeydew honey samples have high antioxidant capacity values such as 74.83%- 78.27%, 78.69% and 78.98%. It was determined that honeydew honey samples have antimicrobial effect on Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923 and Escherichia coli ATCC 1301 microorganisms. It was found out that the samples have no antimicrobial effect on Bacillus cereus ATCC 6633, Candida albicans ATCC 10231 and Saccharomyces cerevisiae ATCC 9763 microorganisms.

The Geology of the Middle Cam Valley, Cambridgeshire, UK

This study offers a new understanding of the stratigraphy and context of the Pleistocene (including Elsterian and Weichselian) and Holocene deposits of the Middle Cam valley, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom, and provides a unique and detailed view of the sediment architecture of these valley-fill and interfluve sediments. The new insights into the geology of the area, including dating, pollen analyses, and sediment architecture, are presented with reference to a series of nine cross-sections through Holocene and Pleistocene deposits, as well as Cretaceous bedrock across the region. The structural geology of the bedrock and the stratigraphic arrangement of younger deposits are used to explain the landscape evolution of the area.

Visiting insect behaviour and pollen transport for a generalist oak-savannah wildflower, Camassia quamash (Asparagaceae)

Many studies have investigated plant-pollinator interactions using visit records of insects contacting floral reproductive organs. However, these studies may not reflect the effectiveness of visits, since factors such as visitor behaviour and the composition of pollen on their bodies may influence conspecific pollen transfer required for fertilisation in plants. Here we study how pollen transport to a generalist wildflower, Camassia quamash (Pursh) Greene (Asparagaceae), is influenced by the behaviour and body pollen of five functional visitor groups (Andrena Fabricius (Hymenoptera: Andrenidae)/Halictidae (Hymenoptera), Apis mellifera Linnaeus (Hymenoptera: Apidae), Bombus Latreille (Hymenoptera: Apidae), Osmia Panzer (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae), and Syrphidae (Diptera). We found that functional visitor groups differed in their behaviour (Bombus and Osmia were legitimate visitors, contacting both anthers and stigmas) and in the amount of conspecific pollen on their bodies (A. mellifera had the highest levels and Andrena/Halictidae the lowest). Conspecific pollen receipt by C. quamash stigmas was high (>80%), and best explained by visitor behaviour rather than the proportion of visitors with high amounts of conspecific body pollen. Our findings highlight the utility of pollen analyses for understanding pollinator effectiveness.

Late Saalian and Eemian Interglacial at the Struga site (Garwolin Plain, central Poland)

The paper reports pollen analyses of 47 samples from palaeolake sediments at WH-15 Struga near Puznówka on the Garwolin Plain in central Poland. The pollen succession covers Late Saalian (MIS-6) and fully developed Eemian (MIS-5e) successions. The Late Saalian section is well developed (more than 2 m thick) and contains sub-zones reflecting the alternating dominance of steppe-tundra and boreal forest communities. The analysed Eemian succession is an uncommon succession described as a variant with early appearance and culmination of Tilia. In these terms, the successions of WH-15 Struga resemble those of sites of the Eemian interglacial known from the vicinity of Warsaw: Błonie, Warszawa-Żoliborz and Warszawa-Wola. The WH-15 Struga site is one of several recently discovered fossil sites of Eemian lakes on the Garwolin Plain, constituting the southern fragment of the extensive Eemian lakeland in the Polish Lowland.