Analysis of the Diversity of Megachilidae Bees on the Northern Subplateau of the Iberian Peninsula

In the western Mediterranean, 772 species of bees in the family Megachilidae have been reported. Special emphasis has been placed on the Iberian Peninsula, where to date 218 species are known. However, few intensive studies providing information about communities of Megachilidae have been carried out. Two earlier works cite 70 species; almost one third of those known on the Peninsula. With an aim of gaining insight into the structure of the communities of Megachilidae and the factors influencing them, an analysis was made of the alpha and beta diversity of different localities in the northern subplateau. Malaise traps (black and white) were used, and 559 specimens belonging to 55 species were identified of which most exhibited a nest-holder-type nesting habit. Abundance and richness were higher for white traps, although a considerable degree of complementarity was observed with the black traps. In the study zone, diversity can be considered medium-high with a phylogenetic diversity corresponding to stable populations. Regarding the composition of the Megachilidae communities, the influence of the landscape structure, of the microhabitat, and of the colour of the trap used to collect the specimens was detected. The following are recommended: (1) the use of both black and white traps, since they show high complementarity and offer different information about community structure, (2) homogenization of the samples in comparisons among communities, owing to the influence of the color of the trap, which masks the importance of ecological factors in community structuring, and (3) the collection of samples from at least two years previous, in view of the elevated “replacement” of species observed with species richness estimators.