Early-phase colonisation by introduced sculptured resin bee (Hymenoptera, Megachilidae, Megachile sculpturalis) revealed by local floral resource variability

Abstract

There is a growing interest to document and better understand patterns and processes involved in non-native bee introductions and subsequent colonisation of new areas worldwide. We studied the spread of the East Asian bee Megachile sculpturalis in Serbia and south eastern Europe; the bee was earlier established in the USA (since 1994) and western Europe (since 2008). Its establishment in Serbia remained dubious throughout most of 2017–2019, following its first detection. We hereby report on its establishment and spreading, which were corroborated in 2019 under specific circumstances. Owing to an exceptionally poor blooming of Styphnolobium japonicum in 2019, we recorded a high activity density of M. sculpturalis concentrated on a scarce key food resource. We present a novel quantitative approach for an improved early detection of M. sculpturalis, based on the interplay between the bee local occurrence pattern and dynamics of key food plant(s) availability. This approach seems particularly effective during the early-phase colonisation, at initially low population density of introduced bees. We address the importance of integration of the genuine plant usage patterns with context-specific bee assessment options in establishing effective monitoring. The improved understanding of M. sculpturalis local dynamics triggered the questions about possible origin(s) and modes of its dispersal east of the Alps. To explore the possible scenarios of M. sculpturalis introduction(s), we extended the study to a wider spatio-temporal context – the region of SE Europe (2015–2019). The two complementary study approaches (at local and regional scale) provided more comprehensive evidence of bee dispersal history and the detection patterns in varied recording contexts. Based on this two-scale approach, we suggest that a diffusive mode of M. sculpturalis introduction into Serbia now seems to be a more plausible scenario (than a long-distance jump). We argue that the integration of outcomes from the contrasting approaches (a systematic surveillance, based on plant resources and a broad-scale opportunistic recording) could be of great methodological relevance for the development of future monitoring protocols.