Summary

Honey bees are not the only bee species that are significant for human wellbeing. Lipotriches bees are a group of native bee species that do not produce honey but are important pollinators of crops and wild plants. Females have a sting, but they are not aggressive and will only sting if handled. Lipotriches bees are solid looking medium sized bees (7-12 mm in length) usually with a striped abdomen and metallic appearance. They look like Nomia bees but Lipotriches bees do not have pale integument bands on abdomen , their bands are pale hairs. They live independently of others (i.e. they are solitary) and build their nests in the ground. This fact sheet provides information about these bees to encourage farmers to understand and protect them to help ensure that their crops are effectively pollinated.

From a conservation and agricultural standpoint it is not necessary to recognise all the different bee genera. However, it is important to know that there is a large bee biodiversity. Different bee genera pollinate different plant species, although there is some overlap that acts as a buffer as bee populations wax and wane. For healthy ecosystems, including agro-ecosystems both diversity and abundance in the bee fauna is important.

Scientific Classification

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Arthropoda

Class: Insecta

Order: Hymenoptera

Family: Halictidae

Subfamily: Nomiinae

Genus: Lipotriches Gerstaecker, 1858

Species in the Genus

Bee species in the genus Lipotriches are found throughout the Eastern Hemisphere though they are not present in Europe. It is a large genus with close to 300 described species.

Species in Kenya, Tanzania & Uganda

About fifty species have been recorded in different habitats inKenya, Tanzania and Uganda (Eardley and Urban 2010) though a comprehensive list of Lipotriches species for the region has not yet been produced.

Description

Lipotriches bees are not well known by local people (including farmers) inEast Africa. These insects are usually not recognised as bees by local people in East Africa , where the name bee is generally thought only to apply to honey bees. They are solid looking medium-sized bees (7-12 mm in length). Most species are banded (dark coloured with narrow lighter bands on the abdomen or yellow with narrow black bands on the abdomen). Many species have short furry hair on the thorax and have a metallic sheen which makes them stand out.

Possible Causes of Confusion

Some insect species look like large Lipotriches bees: These are other Halictidae (Nomia, and Pseudapis bees). They look like Nomia bees but Lipotriches bees do not have pale hairless bands on abdomen that are found on Nomia bees . These are easy to confuse with other species frequently encountered on flowering plants during peak blooming periods. In such circumstances expert assistance might be needed.

Distribution in Kenya, Tanzania & Uganda

Lipotriches bees are found in most districts/regions ofUganda, Kenya and Tanzania (Eardley et al. 2009).

Habitats

Lipotriches bees can be found in various habitats (land-uses) in East Africa such as grasslands, natural forests, wetlands, marshlands, open habitats, protected areas, farmlands, rangelands, woodlands, woodlots (forest plantations) and riparian areas.

Nesting

Lipotriches bees are solitary ground nesting bees (Michener 2007). Lipotriches bees are commonly found nesting in termite mounds in shaded and dry places in different semi-natural habitats.

Crops Visited

Lipotriches bee species in East Africa collect nectar and pollen from various flowering crop species belonging to different plant families (are polylectic). These bees are efficient pollinators of crops such as cucurbits, coffee, water melon, cowpeas, simsim (sesame) and apple.

Other Plants Visited

InEast Africa, Lipotriches bees visit various plant species, notably those in the Fabaceae, Malvaceae, Rubiaceae and Asteraceae families. Lipotriches are wild bees that visit various wild plant species (trees, shrubs, herbs, weeds, lianas) found in different habitats. These bees have short tongues and feed on a variety of shallow flowers. They preferentially visit plant species of small to medium flowers of yellow, white, green, milk-cream and purple colours. Certain species are characterized by high constancy of visit to certain plant species belonging to certain families.

Economic / Ecological Importance

Little information exists on the usefulness of these bees to the lives of the people in East Africa. However, they are pollinators and thus they are likely to contribute to increased agricultural productivity and the conservation of the natural biological diversity of the region.

Threats

InEast Africa, Lipotriches bees and other bee taxa are threatened by factors such as habitat degradation, agricultural intensification (e.g. replacing hedges with barbed wire fences, and increased use of herbicides which can affect wild flower numbers) and the misuse of insecticides. Lipotriches bee populations in East Africa are likely to be affected by pests and diseases but information on this subject is lacking. Trampling by people and livestock can affect these ground-nesting species. The lack of knowledge of about these bees and their economic importance by people (de facto custodians of nature) is significant as their conservation and management practices implemented at the farm level will depend to a large extent upon the value that people attach to them.

Conservation and Management Practices

There are now concerted research efforts in the region to develop best practices for conservation and management of bees to enhance crop production. Theoretically, bee conservation and management is inexpensive and adopted activities can also improve the aesthetic value of the landscape. Such practices involve setting land aside (e.g. a 1-metre strip) in the farmland to host all year round food resources for the bees, as well as safer sites for nesting, mating, resting and refuge from natural enemies. During flowering, farmers should manage pesticide usage carefully to avoid poisoning flower-visiting bees. Farmers should also minimise pesticide drift from the field to adjacent areas. Laws governing registration and use of plant protection products indirectly play a major role in the protection of pollinators. Trampling by people and livestock and tilling should be managed to conserve the nesting sites of soil-nesting species. KARI (the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute) is developing protocols for mass rearing of different species of solitary bees. Any successful results from this research will be freely communicated to the public. In addition, KARI is collaborating with other stakeholders to ensure in situ conservation and management of bees for pollination purposes. Much of the work of conserving native bees will be underpinned by raising public awareness of the importance of these species.

Legislation (National and International)

There is not yet any legislation in East Africa that explicitly addresses pollinators. However, there is scattered legislation for the protection of biodiversity particularly that covering environmental protection, protection of wildlife and heritage sites, protection of forests and natural resources such as water catchments. In addition, laws governing registration and use of plant protection products also indirectly play a major role in the protection of pollinators Such legislation, together with market-based mechanisms such as the Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) codes and practices may help to protect bees albeit incidentally. At the international level, the Conservation on Biological Diversity (CBD) is spearheading strategies to enforce bee management for pollination purposes within the member countries, which include Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. Farmers should lobby their governments to develop Integrated Pest Management policies that would protect bees and other insects of importance in agriculture.

References

1. Eardley CD, Gikungu MW and Schwarz MP (2009) Bee conservation in Sub-Saharan Africa andMadagascar: diversity, status and threats. Apidologie, 40: 355–366.

2. Eardley CD and Urban R (2010) Catalogue of Afrotropical bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Apiformes). Zootaxa, 2455: 1–548.

3. Michener CD (2007) The Bees of the world, the John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London , pp 913.

Editors

Théodore Munyuli, Busitema University - Uganda; Muo Kasina, Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) - Kenya; Juma Lossini, Tropical Pesticides Research Institute (TPRI) – Tanzania; John Mauremootoo, BioNET-INTERNATIONAL Secretariat – UK; Connal Eardley, Plant Protection Research Institute (PPRI) – South Africa.

Acknowledgements

We recognise the support from the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI), Tropical Pesticide Research Institute (TPRI) –Tanzania and Busitema University (Faculty of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences) - Eastern Uganda. This activity was undertaken as part of the BioNET-EAFRINET UVIMA Project (Taxonomy for Development in East Africa).

Contact

BioNET-EAFRINET regional coordinator: [email protected]