MALE SIZE VARIATION AND MATING SITE FIDELITY IN A POPULATION OF HABROPODA-DEPRESSA FOWLER (HYMENOPTERA, ANTHOPHORIDAE)

The relationship between size and mating site fidelity was studied in males of the anthophorid bee Habropoda depressa Fowler during a two ye ar period. Males appear to separate into two groups that locate mates differently. One group patrols patches of ground where bees emerge fro m nests constructed during the previous year. These males appear able to detect females that have recently emerged from nests or that are ab out to do so. Large numbers of these patrolling males struggle for pro longed periods to gain access to mates, frequently forming clusters ar ound newly emerged females. Another group of males patrols flowering p lants, apparently in search of foraging females that did not mate at t he nesting site. Bees marked from both groups showed fidelity to their respective mating sites during mark-recapture studies. The two groups of males also differed significantly in size, with those from the flo wer sites being smaller on average than nesting site males. In additio n, males from mating clusters were larger than other patrolling males at nesting sites. These patterns of male mating behavior parallel thos e found in other protandrous bee and wasp species.