SOLITARY BEES (HYMENOPTERA: APOIDEA) DIVERSITY AND PALYNOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF THEIR ASSOCIATED FLORAL RESOURCES IN WESTERN EGYPT

Egypt is one of the important countries in terms of bee diversity in Northern Africa. The Eastern part of the country has been the subject of several studies over the last decade, especially in comparison to the Western part. In this work, we explore the diversity of solitary bees in the Alexandria Governorate, specifically in the Al Hawaria region (30°57'13" N, 29°40'27" E), based on two years of research conducted in 2021 and 2022. A total of 51 species were identified in the region: 25 species of Apidae, 16 of Megachilidae, 5 of Andrenidae, 4 of Halictidae, and one species of Colletidae. Pollen grain identification from plants and some solitary bee species revealed the creation of reference slides for pollen grains from 32 flowering plant species (both crops and wildflowers) across 19 plant families. The plant family preferences were varied among different bee genera. The most commonly visited plant families were Asteraceae, Brassicaceae, and Fabaceae, which accounted for 58% of the total bee-attracting flora. The pollen spectrum from the Xylocopa aestuans (L. 1758) nest consisted of two pollen types, while the nest of Osmia sp. contained a single pollen type.