Abstract :
Bees within the family Megachilidae are economically important members of natural and agroecosystems as play an important role in the pollination of many plant species. Tribe Anthidiini contains a diverse, cosmopolitan group of solitary bees. Cuticular chemical components analysis is a precise tool for chemotaxonomy, and perhaps they can be used as a complement to morphology and genetic characters in phylogenetic studies. The aims of this study were to describe the cuticular chemical compounds of males and females of Anthidium amabile Alfken, 1932, to evaluate the obtained components to use some chemical compounds as characters that differentiate between male and female, and others as a chemotaxonomic tool. The investigation used gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC–MS). The results indicated that the male and female of this species has significant differences in cuticular chemical components, the male cuticle is characterized by three compounds not found in female while the female cuticle obtains twenty-two chemical compounds not found within the male cuticle.
Keyword :
Chemotaxonomy, Anthidiini, GC-MS, Anthidium amabile, dimorphism