The 100-million-year extensive fossil record of bee brood nests and cells in sedimentary deposits, or paleosols, is usually devoid of the presence of their producers. Paleontologists have now discovered hundreds of long-horned bees (Eucerini) preserved in their brood cells in paleosols of southwest Portugal.
The long-horned bees are members of the highly diverse tribe Eucerini within the family Apidae, with over 32 genera worldwide.
All known species are solitary, though many nest in large aggregations, and large aggregations of males, are found occasionally.
“With a fossil record of 100 million years of nests and hives attributed to the bee family, the truth is that the fossilization of its user is practically non-existent,” said Dr. Andrea Baucon, a paleontologist at the University of Siena.
At Carreira Brava, one of the four paleontological sites studied by Dr. Baucon and colleagues, long-horned bees of the genus Eucera ready to abandon their cells were found in an exceptional state of preservation inside the sealed brood chambers.
The chambers also preserved the inner cell membrane and remains of the monospecific Brassicaceae-type pollen.
“The degree of preservation of these bees is so exceptional that we were able to identify not only the anatomical details that determine the type of bee, but also its sex and even the supply of monofloral pollen left by the mother when she built the cocoon,” said Dr. Carlos Neto de Carvalho, a researcher at the University of Lisbon and Geopark Naturtejo, a UNESCO Global Geopark.
“Our project that led to this discovery identified four paleontological sites with a high density of bee cocoon fossils, reaching thousands in a square measuring one meter on a side.”
“These sites were found between Vila Nova de Milfontes and Odeceixe, on the coast of Odemira, a municipality that gave strong support to the execution of this scientific study, allowing its dating by carbon-14.”
Bees are important pollinators, whose…
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