Bionomic Aspects of the Solitary Bee Tetrapedia diversipes Klug, 1810 (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Tetrapediini)

The study aimed to describe bionomic aspects of Tetrapedia diversipes Klug, 1810 in order to allow the conservation or breeding of these bees. The nesting biology was studied using trap nests made with cardboard-paper tubes and plastic straws during the period between December 2014 and September 2015, in the Bee Unit of the Federal University of Ceará, Brazil. A total of 135 nests were obtained with 593 brood cells, from which emerged 448 adults and individuals of two parasitic species. The proportion of females (n = 297) was higher than that of males (n = 151) resulting in a sex ratio of 1.97:1. The total mortality in the nests was 24.45% and the majority of deaths recorded occurred at the pupal stage (33.1%). During their reproductive life, females of this bee species were able to construct up to 16 brood cells. The trap-nests removal and transfer to the laboratory shortly after finished by the bees reduced the attack of natural enemies