Italics Are Used for Species Names and Other Documents Or Directories. Courier New Font

Glossary 1

2. Glossary

Italics are used for species names and other documents or directories. Courier New font is used for references within the Glossary. The many code snippets assume acquaintance with the '04a_datacoding' and '04b_workedexamples' files within 04data_coding.

&0: / A special non-nest designation. E.g., |aaAf_mu.ns040711&0: indicates a generation 2004 stoppered multicellular nest, most likely of Ancistrocerus antilope, that has never contained provisions. The &0 is obsolete. The coding would now be |aaAf_mu.ns040711: . In 2-generation records (not in Data Set) a new generation example would begin with a * instead of | . See Cell. A non-nest consisting only of stopper would be. e.g., |aaAf_mu.s040711:
!: / Record segment terminator for a ‘lost’ nest. This may be one removed without trace or remodeled by a new nester (showing remains of some of the old transverse walls). Prior to 2005 this code was applied when there was insufficient nest debris to be reasonably sure that full emergence had occurred. After 2005 the code was reserved for removed or remodeled nests, i.e., where there was no debris. See q!: and +#:
#: / A record fragment like ...\6-1$5#: indicates fair certainty that 5 of 6 pupae emerged successfully into the field population, based upon an examination of the nest debris. The # indicates that the nest has been scraped clean by me and the record finished. Prior to year 2005 the #: terminator was only used when at least half the nest was judged emerged. After 2005 it was used for any degree of emergence, e.g., the code fragment …\6-1$1+#: means that at least 1 adult left the mest.
+#: / Quite often part of the nest has been cleaned away by a new nester, so a fragment like ..\6-1$3+#: means that it is estimated that at least 3 adults emerged. For many purposes the 3+ might be taken to be 5 or, if ancilliary data support 90% emergence and the analysis permits, the 3+ might be better estimated as 4.5 (=0.9 x 5).
1 to 10, and 11 and 12 / The number of nest blocks in a stack varies between 7 and 10 at most depending upon the thickness of the nest block and its lid and carpentry variances. So in Data Set spreadsheets the rows in a stack are numbered from 1 to 7,8,9 or occasionally 10. “Row” 12 in the spreadsheet is not a nest block but the title for the stack, while row 11 is either an empty row that pads the stacks in the spreadsheet to constant height for analytical convenience, or a list of logging dates, or (in early years) a nest block in the hive attic. Attics, i.e., spaces between the hive boxes, have not been used for nest blocks since 2001 or so, and at Saugeen (where there is a bat box) are usually occupied by a bat.
A / Letter code for 4.8 mm borewidth (=cavity width) nest blocks used only at Saugeen and Monastery. A favoured bore width for species scB (S. cristatus) and mcA (Megachile campanulae).
aggression / See nest destruction. Largely restricted to crowded hives in 5-10% of cavities (see 01l_LOOK_nest_wars_ESO2008). Female-female aggression has been seen for Potters, Osmia lignaria and Isodontia mexicana. Host female-parasitoid interactions have also been seen. See pinned Potter-gasteruptiid pair in my collection. A second species in a bore may follow a half (=killed) cocoon of a slightly earlier species. Aggression may also involve building a nest stopper in front of another species nest, e.g., the coding |pAA_ra.s: indicates a non-nest that is simply a stopper built by a resin-using Aphid Wasp Passaloecus.
Ancistrocerus / See Potters.
anterior / The newest cells are the anterior in linear nests and Krombein showed that these often contain males in most species, while the females are more usually posterior. My hatches of Symmorphus canadensis show changes in prepupal colour associated with out of order males, which I interpret as nest building by a succession of unrelated females, more likely aggressive than cooperative, see 05ancilliary_data and 08communications.
Anthidium / See felt.
ants / Encountered less than 12 times 1997-2006, and only at an early stage when no damage has been done. Quickly scraped out and not always included in early records. Severe damage in 2007 at JT stand due to ants loosening block lids by chewing away pads to make brood chambers.
Anthrax / Bee Fly, a cleptoparasite.. Second commonest parasite of Potter nests. Typically I have opened every Potter cocoon by late Spring. Unlike Chrysis which is mostly recognized early, Anthrax attracts attention over a long period from early winter to post-emergence by its horned prepupa, writhing movements or shed skin. Some Spring specimens are very small, which suggests some parasitoids develop late; however, entries are always coded as if host death occurs within the summer cocoon, e.g., ]scB_mu&6%6@6-BO1/5/5$4#:[BO@1/1/1$1: Anthrax also parasitizes Chrysis.
aphids / Prey of the resin-using sphecid wasp Passaloecus
artificial release / See losses as -AR1, etc.
attic / The floor and roof of a hive are inset so there is sufficient space for one row of nest blocks, or for a bag of cocoons, when two hives are stacked or a tiled roof is placed on top of a hive. Rarely used, usually left empty or as a space for tools. Coded in some spreadsheets as row 11.
B / Letter code for 6.4 mm wide nest cavity.
bats / One bat regularly occupies either the WES or MID hive stand attics at Saugeen. A large summer roost is 200m distant.
bee board / Commercial nesting material for leafcutter bees. Not used.
beetles / Provisions solely of dark greasy-looking beetle larvae, presumably the willow herbivore Chrysomela aenicollis, identify the boreal Potter Wasp Symmorphus cristatus. S. canadensis occasionally/rarely uses a few such larvae.
block colour / As in the Leafcutter Bee industry, the intention was that a minority of nest blocks have white or coloured faces and be interspersed as an aid to insect navigation amongst the majority black blocks. The blackfaced blocks and east-facing hives are for early morning insolation. For simpler management colours are now largely replaced by white. Check the spreadsheets for the actual proportion of black or dark blocks, which varies most (2005) at at Saugeen. See Colour.
BO / A bombyliid, Anthrax irroratus with very few exceptions.
bore / A literature term, originally for a hole drilled in a stick, used here to honour Krombein. Other synonyms are tunnel, hole or potential nest cavity. The present bores are actually blind-ended lidded U-section grooves.
borewidth / The diameter of the U-section bore. If routering is precise the U-section has the same
cross-sectional area as a circular bore with the same diameter of curvature.
The number of bores in a nest block is inversely as the borewidth, BW.
bore length / 150 mm, as for Krombein and many others.
caterpillars / Typically prey of Ancistrocerus antilope.
C / Letter code for the 8.0 mm cavity width.
cell / Krombein’s term for one of the compartments in a linear nest, whether provisioned or not. In this project positive nonzero cell counts are restricted to cells with a viable host or large parasitoid, or where fresh provisions suggest that there ought to be an egg or small larva. Special codings identify a variety of non-nests. See &0: and Nest.
‘cellophane’ / Hylaeus bees build fragile transparent bubble nests of a material that looks like cellophane, hence the nest descriptor cc (repetition is sometimes used for bee nests as there are no prey to provide a second letter). It is not cellophane but neither is it chemically a true silk ().
Chalcids CA / Parasites of Osmia lignaria (olA) and perhaps Trypoxylon lactitarse(tlA). A typical record fragment might be ...@7-CA1\6/... Most commonly it is the outermost host cocoon that bears the 1-2 mm exit hole. Occasionally there are dead chalcids nearby.
Chrysis / A common parasite spotted, usually C. coerulans, in Potter nests in late summer and winter by its translucent brown capsular cocoon with a white patch. Melittobia and Anthrax can be seen within this in good daylight. Well estimated in transparent nests (Hylaeus) but might be missed in tough opaque cocoons that are not routinely opened (e.g., Osmia lignaria).
clusters / Potter nests usually cluster (Manuscripts/Saugeen, Photographs). Nesting mothers, pests, parasitoids, failed cells or nest stoppers often seem to be clustered on inspection.
Coelioxys / Parasitoid species of Megachile species..
colour / Nest block colours are black, white, rose, yellow, blue or natural, coded as k, w, r, y, b and n. Letters are also used for prepupal colours; see the keys to spreadsheets . Prepupal colour helps sort out sister species of Potter Wasps. Only 2-4 of these colours can be recognized in the field but about 6 if prepupae are removed from their cocoons and grouped into sizable groups under good daylight in the laboratory (Ancilliary Data/Saugeen)
community or locality / During the Development Period of the project (1997-2000) a variety of nest cavity widths were used at Saugeen and Monastery (no development period at Jokers; see SAUGEEN and MONASTERY_INFORMATION within main directory 11RECORD_SOURCES_etc). Because the fauna was regional, without endemics, and the census counts large, I chose to force 3 different communities by the choice of nest cavity width in years 2001-8: Saugeen (3.2, 4.8 mm), Monastery (4.8, 6.4. 8.0 mm) and Jokers (6.4, 8.0, 9.6 mm). See slideshow and project ESO2010 within main directories 01 and 07. See also Development Period and Main Study.
competition / See aggression
confusions / Inseparable species in the field include small insects like the various Hylaeus bees or various Passaloecus aphid wasps. Temporary confusions can be resolved (a) by prepupal colour and diet (Symmorphus canadensis and S. cristatus in 3.2 bores at Saugeen), or (b) by a combination of more detailed nest descriptors, long term records and opening or slicing tough cocoons (e.g., the “mastic bees” group– Osmia and certain Megachile species that use masticated leaves in their constructions, at Jokers Hill).
count / An actual count, a census, not an estimate. However, field emergence ($-stage) values for individual nests are always slight overestimates because they are based on the number of healthy preemergence insects minus the recovered corpses. See stage count.
cuckoo / Cuckoo Wasps, nearly always Chrysis coerulans.
cull / A species-selective harvest. See 04.01, document '4e. Coding harvests.'
D / Letter code for the 9.6 mm cavity width.
Data Set name / The scientific names for the host species are abbreviated as 3 letter groups: starting with 1-2 lower case letters that give the initial letter(s) of the uninomial or binomial taxon, and a balance of 2-1 upper case letters as padding or ‘tie-breaking’ characters. E.g., Symmorphus canadensis and S. cristatus are given as scA and scB, and the Symmorphus species group of scA plus scB as sAB. Though a comparable approach could be used for parasitoids and pests the records are clearer if one sticks to the old field mnenomics (2-3 upper case letters) for parasitoids, pests, pathogens and other sources of real (culling, sampling) or apparent (summer emergence) loss. Host species nest descriptors are linked by an underscore to the taxonomic name. Nest descriptors are explained in the spreadsheet LABELS_TAXA. See nest descriptors.
dermestid / Not common, perhaps because of bore scraping, but seen as clusters in the ONE stand in 2005. Field impression is usually a scavenger and uncommonly a predator.
destructive sampling / One can only assess the viability of some cocoons (Leafcutters, some Osmia, Trypoxylon) by slicing. If viable the a loss of ..-PH1.. is entered. See losses as -PH1, etc.
Development Period / The years 1997-2000 at Saugeen and Monastery when there was much experimentation with a variety of cavity widths. Only census counts of overwintering nests or cocoons were made. The data are given within 11RECORD_SOURCES_etc in the worksheets with names like SAUGEEN_INFORMATION. See Main Study.
Diptera DI / Miltogrammine flies attack the spiders that provision the nests of Trypoxylon lactitarse. The nest stopper is often perforated and transverse mud walls always. It is striking that the maggots rarely penetrate to the posterior of the nest if there is an intervening cocoon. Host failure beyond the cocoons nearly always appears to be at a very early stage, due to mites, developmental failure, etc..
dot extension / To a species_nest descriptor combination give dated information, e.g., the dot extension in the record fragment scB_mu.nk060719 indicates that an inspection on July 19 2006 found a superseded nest. Not used before generation 2005.
duplicate entries / Duplicate records for adjacent or successive nests occur with surprising frequency where one bore width is dominated by 1 species.
egg harvests / When the bee Osmia lignaria was overwhelming the other species at the Monastery site I removed its nests at the egg stage in an effort to preserve the biodiversity. This often required special records. See special segment, winter harvests.See 04.01, document '4e. Coding harvests.'
emergence values / Emergence values ($ survival stage) made in the field are always (generally slight) overestimates. The best field estimates, based on any corpses found in the remains of complete nests before my cleaning, are coded in bore histories as, e.g., ../5-1$4#:... Good estimates from part of a nest are coded as, e.g., …/5-1$2+#:. If the nest contents have been largely removed, the entire nest removed, or the nest reconstructed by a new nester it is coded with a q!: terminator and the emergence value is merely the last count repeated, e.g.,../4$4q!:. Emergence counts in 05ancilliary_data are for specially controlled emergence, e.g., within cages in the field or in the laboratory.
estimate / Field values for emergence are always estimates, not counts. The causes of loss are also estimates, especially when there are multiple causes of death in the same nest, e.g., pathogens, pests, parasitoids and hyperparasites. A loss of zero indicates a risk factor, e.g., the data fragment …@4-ME0\4… indicates that the pest Melittobia was exterminated before it caused any death.
expansions / Field records for generation 2004 at LAU, TWO and MID hive stands used a reduced format which in the end did not save labour. These were straightforwardly recoded, e.g., ..&4$4#: became ...&4%4@4\4/4$4#: and ..&4\3/3$3#: became ...&4%Q@Q\3/3$3#:, where Q = an uncertain count.
In the Python expansions of the records into multiple columns two methods were used for the uncertain counts Q. In first, all the Q were interpolated or extrapolated from the nearest left or the righthand count as appropriate. In the second, intermediate Qs (as just above) were still interpolated and trailing (late stage) Qs still extrapolated from the nearest leftward (earlier stage) count ---but leading Qs were left as is. Both approaches are slightly problematic as the created values are integers
There are a variety of other options for dealing with missing counts. E.G., the code fragment ...&4%Q@Q\3/3$3#: might be decimal interpolated ...&4%\3/3$3#:..., or, repeated examples might be probabilistically expressed as equal parts of ...&4%4 @4\3/3$3#:..., ...&4%4 @3\3/3$3#:... and ...&4%3 @3\3/3$3#:...
In some records the value of a count is slightly uncertain or the cause of loss is uncertain. q flags such uncertainty e.g., ..&4-1%3q@3-MEq1\2/2$2#:.. See uncertain.
failed stage / The stage after failure. In stage survival records the stage which begins with a zero count, e.g., the coding fragment ..&3-3%0:.. indicates 0 large larvae (%-stage), nest failure having occurred at some unknown time during the first survival stage (egg- or &-stage) from failure to death of eggs or small larvae or, just possibly, failure to lay eggs. See zero, as 0.
felt / Nests of Anthidium manicatum, the Carder Bee. See gravel.
field record / A densely coded record. The spreadsheets show just one generation though I work in the field on two generations.
Flesherton / This cottage site in willow swamp is referred to as Saugeen or SAU. N44.20 W80.53.
fugitive / The Hylaeus bees nest at random within the hives (spatial pattern P0 of Project 2001 and 2002) and by preliminary testing of the species combinations for the first of the season’s nests in a nest block these bees appear to be slightly negatively associated with other species.
generalist / See specialists and generalists
generation / Because most species are univoltine the six stages of the standard nest survival record are spread from egg-laying in one Spring or summer to emergence the following year. Summer emergence without overwintering is treated for convenience as a special type of loss at the summer cocoon stage. Parsivoltinism (Osmia texana, otB, only) is coded in the same way (any second year’s losses are entered in the overwintering or \-stage) and clarified by dated comments at that bore position in both the sheets for both the nest construction and emergence years; however, the coded record is only entered in the sheet for the construction year.
grasses / Long grasses when used as nest stoppers by Isodontia mexicana are very effective against a dangerous competitor like Osmia lignaria.
gravel / Used in the nest stoppers of Anthidium manicatum.
harvest / For brevity this word is used only to mean non-selective harvesting, usually of entire stacks or entire hive boxes (which helps when maintaining the equipment). See cull. See 04.01, document '4e. Coding harvests.'
history / Synonym for record. A symbolic string for all the nests in a bore, in an annual generation. Each history contains punctuation symbols that identify its various parts. Segments begin by identifying the host or parasitoid species and continue with numeric counts and alphanumeric losses for the different stages of survival. Additional nesting information with dates may be included after the species name. See 04data_coding.