Ecology and Nest Structures of Ground-Nesting Stingless Bees in the High and Midlands of West Shewa Zone, Ethiopia

Abstract

The study was carried out with the aim of investigating the nesting ecology and nest structures of ground-nesting stingless bees in the highland and midland of the Dendi and Meta Robi districts, west Shewa. The high number of stingless bee nests per hectare was recorded in the highlands at 1.75±0.91 than in the midland at 0.37±0.54 (p<0.05). The mean nesting depth of 71.8±5.0 and 57.2±6.1cm and external nest entrance height of 1.63±0.03 and 1.64±0.08cm were observed in the highland and midland areas, respectively and their difference in all the variables were significant (p<0.05). Likewise, the mean nest length of 37.5±0.69 and 36.8±0.80cm were recorded for the highland and midland, respectively. The stingless bee soil depth, composition and structure varied based on altitude (highland and midland). The result of the present study soil analysis generally suggests this ground-nesting species prefer more of loam soil particle types to nest in. This study contributed to the scanty information on the nesting ecology and nest structures of the stingless bees and suggests further study on the same species and other stingless bee species of the country.