| ABSTRACT Collection of pollen was verified in 248 samples of the material on the hind tibial scopae of the solitary bee, Epicharis rustica (Olivier, 1879) captured on their return to the nest. Of the total, 54% (133) of the samples had material on the scopae, 48 of then had only oil and 85 (64%) had both oil and pollen. For seven weeks, almost all (91%) of the 85,000 the pollen grains were of the tree, Byrsonima sericea DC. In the latter weeks the proportion of this species decreased. Like several other members of the genus, E. rustica is univoltine, oligolectic and nests in aggregations. |
