Elevated rates of dietary generalization in eusocial lineages of the secondarily herbivorous bees.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Within the Hymenoptera, bees are notable for their relationship with flowering plants, being almost entirely dependent on plant pollen and nectar. Though functionally herbivorous, as a result of their role as pollinators, bees have received comparatively little attention as models for insect herbivory. Bees often display dietary specialization, but quantitative comparison against other herbivorous insects has not previously been conducted.

Results

In the most comprehensive analysis to date for 860 bee species, dietary specialization amounted to 50.1% of studied species collecting pollen from between 1 and 2 botanical families with a relatively long tail of dietary generalists, with 11.1% of species collecting from more than 10 botanical families. This distribution

SUBMITTER: Wood TJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10662511 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature