User talk:Valxoxo48/sandbox
Article Evaluation[edit]
The information in this article is all relevant and gives a quick insight to what Royal Jelly is, how it is produced, and how it is used in honey bees. Within the article it talks about how humans are eating royal jelly as a dietary supplement but does not list why people may eat this jelly and what kind of benefits it may incur. I feel that the article is neutral and is not pushing any other agenda. The section about epigenetics may go a little bit too far in depth and can possibly be condensed down. After testing some of the links found at the bottom of the page, the link to the FDA page does not work anymore, and that is a source that this article was using to talk about how the FDA had begun to take legal action against bee companies that were falsely advertising about royal jelly. In the talk section of the article there are a few of people chatting about suggestions that they think would be important to change in the article, anywhere from fixing certain wordings to questioning the type of information that is present and the accuracy of sources. This article is also apart of 3 other wiki projects that are about bee keeping, dietary supplements, and alternative medicine and are all C-Class articles as well. We have not talked about this topics in class. ````
Augochlorella[edit]
Etymology and name
Augochlorella is an insect genus under the order Hymenoptera, which include ants, bees, wasps, and sawflies. They are part of the family of bees Halictidae, which are commonly called 'Sweat Bees'. Their subfamily is Halictinae and their tribe is Augochlorini. https://bugguide.net/node/view/83085
Identification and appearance
The most recognizable features of Augochlorella are the clypeus (shield-shaped plate of exoskeleton below the frons and above the labrum), the pointed apex of the marginal cell, and the pale green and pale reddish tegulae.link this to the actual page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tegula_(insect_anatomy) Many of them have a visibly iridescent blue-green hue.
Sexual Dimorphism
Females in the augochlorella genus have an average length of 7 to 9 mm, and males have an average length of 9mm.
https://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20q?search=Augochlorella+pomoniella&flags=subgenus:
https://bugguide.net/node/view/83085
Origin and distribution
Bees of the Halictine Augochlorini tribe are found between Northern Argentina to southern Canada but mostly concentrated to the tropics of the Americas. They are the most abundant bees in the Neotropical fauna.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.0307-6970.2004.00243.x
Only a few species of Augochlorini reach the temperate Nearctic. Augochlorella striata occurs further north than any other member of the tribe.
http://www.yorku.ca/bugsrus/resources/publications/1990%20Packer.pdf
Species
There are 18 species within Augochlorella, which include:
Augochlorella acarinata
Augochlorella aurata
Augochlorella bracteata
Augochlorella comis
Augochlorella ephyra
Augochlorella gratiosa
Augochlorella iopoecila
Augochlorella iphigenia
Augochlorella karankawa
Augochlorella meridionalis
Augochlorella michaelis
“Augochlorella neglectula
Augochlorella persimilis
Augochlorella pomoniella
Augochlorella stenothoracica
Augochlorella tredecim
Augochlorella una
Augochlorella urania.
https://bugguide.net/node/view/83086
Sociality
The bees in this genus are eusocial which is different from many other Augochlorini, which are typically either solitary or semisocial.
http://www.sbs.utexas.edu/Muelleru/pubs/Mueller_JKansasEntSoc_1996.pdf
Augochlorella striata contains a mixture of solitary and social nest foundresses, which means they switch between either producing 1-2 workers before switching to a male-biased brood, or producing males first. Female biased broods can result from cell reuse in both solitary and eusocial nests. Workers are mostly sterile and slightly smaller than their mothers. https://www.yorku.ca/bugsrus/resources/publications/1990%20Packer.pdf
Timing
The species Augochlorella striata is active from the start of April until the end of September. The species constructs pollen balls starting in the second week of may until the middle of August.
http://www.yorku.ca/bugsrus/resources/publications/1990%20Packer.pdf
Nesting
Most Halictidae species will collect and provision their nests with pollen and nectar in mass. Augochlorella are considered broad generalists and interact with the following native plants: Apocynum cannabinum, Erigeron strigosus, Pycnanthemum tenuifolium, Solidago odora, Euthamia graminifolia. Their nesting habits entail soil burrowing in well-drained areas and are found in a wide variety of habitats.
Augochlorella nests typically consist of a below-ground cavity that contains a cluster of cells. They can be found in both field and wooded habitats. The depth of the vertical burrow can be between 5 to 25 cm and depends greatly on soil moisture. Augochlorella queens begin constructing nests mid-April with the first cell typically being completed during the first week of May. The number of cells completed during this month depends on the number of queens in the nest but averages three cells per female. An initial batch of eggs are laid, with a two week period of inactive nesting, and then another batch is laid.
https://www.jstor.org/stable/25083373?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
The mean number of brood cells increase gradually during the summer, usually reaching a peak of 12. Only a few cells are used twice and the number of offspring produced per nest average between 14 and 15, slightly greater than the number of brood cells.
Changes in geographic location and temperature can affect the activity of Augochlorella striata. A maritime Canadian climate can lead to reduced duration of brood production, fewer workers per nest, fewer reproductives, and nest foundresses may produce a mixture of workers and reproductives.
http://www.yorku.ca/bugsrus/resources/publications/1990%20Packer.pdf
Plant Interactions
Augochlorella aurata pollinates pepper, strawberry, tomato and watermelon plants. https://articles.extension.org/pages/26310/identification-of-native-bees#Augochlora_pura_and_Augochlorella_aurata
They are also important pollinators for many wildflowers and crops, including stone fruits, pomme fruits, alfalfa and sunflower. Providing wildflower plantings and nesting areas are ideal for encouraging sweat bee populations.
http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/misc/bees/halictid_bees.htm
Parasites
The family Halicitdae contains a few social parasites and cleptoparasitic bee genera, and these parasites affect Augochlorella as well. These parasites include Sphecodes, Microsphecodes, and some Lasioglossum species. Sphecodes females will typically kill the egg or larva in the cell before they lay an egg. In most other cleptoparasitic species, eggs are laid on the unfinished cell walls or through sealed cells where the cleptoparasite larva will kill the other egg or larva and eat the host's stored food.
http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/misc/bees/halictid_bees.htm
Flight
The typical flight distance for Augochlora pura and Augochlorella aurata is 66-230 yd. (60-210 m)
https://articles.extension.org/pages/26310/identification-of-native-bees#Augochlora_pura_and_Augochlorella_aurata
— Preceding unsigned comment added by Milanarya1 (talk • contribs) 20:36, 21 February 2019 (UTC)