HOURLY CAPTURE OF 2 SPECIES OF MEGALOPTA (HYMENOPTERA, APOIDEA HALICTIDAE) AT BLACK LIGHTS IN PANAMA WITH NOTES ON NOCTURNAL FORAGING BY BEES

Night-flying bees of the genus Megalopta were censused at black lights on Bane Colorado Island, Panama, from January to March, 1996. One hun dred two female bees (43 M. ecuadoria and 59 M. genalis) were captured during 120 hours of surveys. No males of either species were caught. Megalopta ecuadoria were captured almost exclusively during the last h our before sunrise. Megalopta genalis were caught frequently in the ho ur preceding sunrise and the first hour after sunset, and infrequently throughout the night. Two individuals of M. genalis were caught with pollen loads. Both pollen loads contained only pollen of Pseudobombax septanatum, a large canopy tree that has a long flowering period and l arge, night-opening flowers with abundant and protein-rich pollen. The re was no apparent association between capture abundance and phase of the moon.