The role of wild bees and cavity-nesting wasps as ecological indicators of the last traditionally managed meadows in Eastern Europe

The number of wild bees and cavity-nesting wasps is abundant in agricultural areas and they contribute significantly to ecosystem services. Due to their specialization in nesting sites and food sources, these groups are sensitive to habitat condition changes and they are therefore important indicators for environmental impact assessments. As semi-natural habitats are steadily declining and often understudied, their significance for research is increasingly recognized. During this research, the role of wild bee species and cavity-nesting Hymenopteran taxa as indicators was examined, along the unique combination of high nature value and traditional land use habitats in Eastern Europe, Transylvania. Transects and trap nests were used to test the diversity and abundance of wild bees and cavity-nesting Hymenopterans to identify possible differences between highly protected and less protected areas. The differences in taxonomic groups between the sites and the potential effects of landscape structure on wild bees and cavity-nesting Hymenopterans were also assessed. We detected a high diversity of wild bee species and a significant species replacement from one study year to another. Among the nest-building Hymenopteran taxa, the majority of nests was built by Trypoxylon sp. during both study years, with a stronger dominance in the second year. The different taxonomic groups of wild bees and cavity-nesting Hymenopterans showed differences in their habitat affinities. The majority of the sampled bumblebee species as well as Trypoxylon sp. had an affinity towards the study sites located within the highly protected study area. Altogether, we found different habitat preferences for different Hymenopteran groups (both wild bees and wasps) and conclude that these groups definitely have the potential to serve as indicators for differences in the intensity of land use.

Preliminary assessment of cavity-nesting Hymenopterans in a low-intensity agricultural landscape in Transylvania

In this study, our aim was to assess several traits of cavity-nesting Hymenopteran taxa in a low-intensity agricultural landscape in Transylvania. The study took place between May and August 2018 at eight study sites in the hilly mountainous central part of Romania, where the majority of the landscape is used for extensive farming or forestry. During the processing of the trap nest material, we recorded several traits regarding the nests of different cavity-nesting Hymenopteran taxa and the spider prey found inside the nests of the spider-hunting representatives of these taxa. We also evaluated the relationship between the edge density and proportion of low-intensity agricultural areas surrounding the study sites and some of these traits. The majority of nests were built by the solitary wasp genus Trypoxylon, followed by the solitary wasp taxa Dipogon and Eumeninae. Solitary bees were much less common, with Hylaeus being the most abundant genus. In the nests of Trypoxylon, we mostly found spider prey from the family of Araneidae, followed by specimens from the families of Linyphiidae and Theridiidae. In the nests of Dipogon, we predominantly encountered spider prey from the family of Thomisidae. We found significant effects of low-intensity agricultural areas for the genera of Auplopus, Megachile, Osmia, and the Thomisid prey of Dipogon. We also found that the spider prey of Trypoxylon was significantly more diverse at study sites with higher proportions of low-intensity agricultural areas. Our results indicate that solitary bees seem to be more abundant in areas, where the influence of human activities is stronger, while solitary wasps seem to rather avoid these areas. Therefore, we suggest that future studies not only should put more effort into sampling in low-intensity agricultural landscapes but also focus more on solitary wasp taxa, when sampling such an area.