Biology of a nocturnal bee, Megalopta atra (Hymenoptera: Halictidae; Augochlorini), from the Panamanian highlands

Abstract

Bees of the genus Megalopta have gained attention as a result of their social nesting and nocturnal foraging. Seventeen nests of Meglaopta atra from the highlands of Chiriqui Province, Panama, were collected at the end of the dry season when brood rearing is expected to be at its peak. Most nests contained single females; within multifemale nests only one female possessed enlarged ovarioles, although some non-reproductive individuals were inseminated. In two