JHR 80: 169-175 (2020) Agee eS, JOURNAL OF “Shawnee

doi: 10.3897/jhr.80.59649 SHORT COMMUNICATION () Hymenopter a
.

https://jhr.pensoft.net The Inarasional Society of ymenopeeriss, RESEARCH

First record of the carpenter bee Xylocopa pubescens
(Hymenoptera, Apidae) in the Canary Islands
confirmed by DNA barcoding

Carlos Ruiz', Daniel Sudrez??, Manuel Naranjo‘, Pilar De la Rua?

| Departamento de Biologia Animal, Edafologia y Geologta, Seccién de Biologta, Facultad de Ciencias, Univer-
sidad de La Laguna, 38206, La Laguna, Spain 2. Island Ecology and Evolution Research Group, Instituto de
Productos Naturales y Agrobiologta (IPNA-CSIC), 38206, La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain 3 Escuela de Doctorado
y estudios de Posgrado, Universidad de La Laguna, 38206, La Laguna, Spain 4 Sociedad Entomolégica Canaria
Melansis, C/Guaydil 3-1A, 35016, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Gran Canaria, Spain § Departamento de
Zoologia y Antropologia Fisica, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de Murcia, 30100, Murcia, Spain

Corresponding author: Carlos Ruiz (cruizcar@ull.edu.es)

Academic editor: M. Ohl | Received 14 October 2020 | Accepted 19 November 2020 | Published 29 December 2020
http://zoobank.org/2BB13F6C-66EB-4FFC-964F-ACA4CEE61A15

Citation: Ruiz C, Suarez D, Naranjo M, De la Rta P (2020) First record of the carpenter bee Xylocopa pubescens
(Hymenoptera, Apidae) in the Canary Islands confirmed by DNA barcoding. Journal of Hymenoptera Research
80: 169-175. https://doi.org/10.3897/jhr.80.59649

Abstract

Island ecosystems are particularly vulnerable to the introduction of exotic species that can have an impact
on local fauna and flora. Here, the carpenter bee Xylocopa pubescens is reported in Gran Canaria (Canary
Islands, Spain) for the first time. This species is native to North Africa and the Near East and shows a rapid
dispersion across the city of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, together with a single record in the southern-

most tip of the island. Different hypotheses about its arrival to the island are discussed.

Keywords

Canary Islands, Exotic species, range expansion, new record, social media, wood nesting bees

Copyright Carlos Ruiz et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0),
which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

170 Carlos Ruiz et al. / Journal of Hymenoptera Research 80: 169-175 (2020)

Introduction

Bees of the genus Xylocopa are characterised by a large size (13-30 mm) and robust
jaws used for cutting the corolla of tubular flowers to extract the nectar, and also
for their nesting habits, mainly in trees and wooden structures. The genus has 469
species grouped into 38 subgenera (Ascher and Pickering 2020) and is distributed
throughout the World with a high level of diversification in tropical and subtropical
areas (Michener 2007). In Europe, the genus has seven species whereas in North Africa
there are six known species (Terzo and Rasmont 2014).

Several species of Xylocopa have been introduced into both continental (Dahlberg
et al. 2013) and island ecosystems (Okabe 2010), mainly due to wood imports. For
example, Xylocopa sonorina Smith, 1874 has been introduced into several Pacific islands
(Hurd 1958; Barrows 1980). More recently Xylocopa tranquebarorum (Swedetus, 1787)
has been reported for the first time in Japan (Okabe 2010).

In the Canary Islands, despite their proximity to the African continent (Fuerteventu-
ra is 96 km off the northwest coast of Morocco), there were no representatives of the
genus until 2013-2014, when Xylocopa violacea (Linnaeus, 1758) was recorded for the
first time on the south of the island of Gran Canaria (Ortiz et al. 2016). This species
has spread throughout the island in the last years (C. Ruiz pers. obs.).

The arrival of an exotic species can lead to negative impacts on ecosystems such
as competition with native pollinators for floral and nesting resources, or the intro-
duction of new pathogens (Kawazoe et al. 2010). They can also have negative effects
on native flora (Barrows 1980), as damaging flowers due to nectar robbery without
pollinating them (Dedej and Delaplane 2004). In addition, carpenter bees can be a
nuisance to humans, due to their ability to nest in human structures, such as fences
or wooden roofs. In insular ecosystems, these impacts can be exacerbated due to the
vulnerability of island ecosystems to invasive species (Reaser et al. 2007), which are the
primary threat to island invertebrates (Leclerc et al. 2018).

Early detection of invasive species is therefore one of the most important actions to
ensure the success of control or eradication campaigns, as it reduces costs and potential
damage. In this context, citizen science has proven as an effective tool for early detec-
tion of exotic species irrespective of their invasive potential (Thomas et al. 2017; Poland
and Rassati 2019). Herein, we report the first record of a second exotic Xylocopa species
for the Canary Islands, Xylocopa pubescens Spinola, 1838, based on data published on

social media and confirmed using DNA barcoding for the species identification.

Methods

From June to October 2020, several observations were made of a new species of
Xylocopa by the authors and in social networks such as Facebook (‘Fauna Vertebrada
e Invertebrada de las islas Canarias’ and ‘Sociedad Entomolégica Canaria Melansis’)
and Whatsapp groups. For each species observation (captures included), we obtained

First record of Xylocopa pubescens in the Canary Islands 1!

photographic evidence from authors and asked them to provide the following informa-
tion: date/period, number of individuals observed and location with GPS coordinates.

In order to confirm the identification, DNA from a single leg of a captured indi-
vidual was extracted and amplified in a single step using Phire Animal Tissue Direct

PCR Kit (Thermo Scientific) and standard barcoding primers (LCO1490, HCO2198).

Results

New records
Xylocopa (Koptortosoma) pubescens Spinola, 1838

New records. SpaIn: Canary Islands, Gran Canaria, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. 1 9
Ciudad Jardin, 11 Jun. 2020, Kings Ruly ods.; several ex. Parque Doramas, 28.120, -15.428,
Jun. 2020, Pablo Martinez Darve obs.; 1 2° Mercado central, 06 Jul. 2020, 28.133,-15.432,
Manuel Betancor ods.; 1 2 Playa de las Canteras, 28.142,-15.432, 18 Aug. 2020; 1 9,
136 Parque Doramas, 28.120, -15.428, 2 Oct. 2020, Manuel Arechavaleta obs.; 4 2, 5
&, Parque de La Ballena, 28.1052, -15.4424, 30 Sept. 2020, M. Naranjo ods.; 1 9, 14
Urbanizacién Las Filipinas, 28.0761, -15.4198, 25 Sept. 2020, M. Naranjo /eg.

Spain: Canary Islands, Gran Canaria, Maspalomas. 1 9 Playa del Inglés, 27.749,
-15.578, 05 Sep. 2020, Carlos Velazquez Padrén Leg.

Identification. Xylocopa pubescens was identified at subgenus level (Koptortosoma)
by its external morphology. It is morphologically unique among Canary Island bees;
the only species of Xylocopa on the archipelago is X. violacea. From this last species,
X. pubescens can be easily differentiated by the mesosoma covered dorsally with yel-
low hairs. Males are smaller than females, and they can be distinguished by a narrow
head and yellow pubescence covering their entire body (Fig. 1). However due to mor-
phological similarities with related species such as X. modesta Smith, 1854 from Cape
Verde, X. aestuans (Linnaeus, 1758) from Southeast Asia or X. appendiculata Smith,
1852 (introduced in North America), a molecular identification through barcode was
accomplished. An individual from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria city was successfully se-
quenced for the barcode region of mitochondrial cox]. Sequence length was 658 bp (0%
ambiguities) with no evidence of stop codons or NUMTs. Comparison with the DNA
barcode library using the BOLD ID Engine resulted in a 99.35% of similarity with an
exemplar of X. pubescens from Fes-Boulemane Region (Rif region, North of Morocco).
Individuals from Cyprus and Israel showed lower similarity (99.23—99.07%). NCBI
Blast resulted in 97.26% of similarity with the related species Xylocopa aestuans.

Distribution

Xylocopa pubescens is naturally distributed in Near-East and North Africa. The species
is expanding its native range, as it has been recently detected in the Balcanic Peninsula

172 Carlos Ruiz et al. / Journal of Hymenoptera Research 80: 169-175 (2020)

de Gran Canaria). Photos: M. Naranjo.

(Greece; Terzo and Rasmont 2014) and the Iberian Peninsula (South Spain; Ortiz and
Pauly 2016). In Gran Canaria, all the new records are restricted to the North in Las
Palmas de Gran Canaria city, in the surroundings of the port and large urban gardens;
additionally, there is one record from the southern tip of Gran Canaria in La Playa del
Inglés (Fig. 2). A social network member reported a previous sighting in 2019 in the
area where the current sightings occurred, which suggests that the species has been on
the island for at least one year.

Discussion

The occurrence of Xylocopa pubescens in the island of Gran Canaria can be explained by
two alternative scenarios. It may have arrived in a shipment of wood in the port of Las
Palmas, with a secondary expansion up to Maspalomas. This hypothesis is supported
by its wide distribution around the port area of the capital (Fig. 1). The port receive
more than one million containers a year (

). The fact that other Xylocopa species have been commonly intercepted in
wood shipments elsewhere (e.g. San Francisco: Hurd 1955; Japan: Maidl 1912), and

First record of Xylocopa pubescens in the Canary Islands 173

Figure 2. Localities where Xylocopa pubescens has been recorded in Gran Canaria island (red dots). A

detailed distribution in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria city is presented, showing urban areas (grey) and the
port of Las Palmas (in blue).

this large volume of containers trading-off, make possible the accidental arrival and
posterior dispersal of this species across the urban area of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
Wood- or stem-nesting bees, such as those of the family Megachilidae or the genus
Xylocopa, are known to disperse further by transported nests to isolated islands than by
flight (Michener 1979; Poulsen and Rasmussen 2020). Globalization has accelerated
this process, thus favouring the introduction of species as carpenter bees that nest in
wood or other commercial substrates. In the last decade, several exotic wood nesting
bees have been reported in the Canary Islands such as X. violacea (Ortiz et al. 2016) or
Megachile otomita Cresson, 1878 (Strudwick and Jacobi 2018).

Alternatively, X. pubescens may have arrived by its own means, transported by the
warm east-wind from the Moroccan desert (locally known as ‘calima’). X. pubescens
is adapted to xeric conditions, and it is likely expanding its native range by coloniz-
ing southern Europe in two independent events during the last decade, probably in

174 Carlos Ruiz et al. / Journal of Hymenoptera Research 80: 169-175 (2020)

relation with the global climate change. Therefore, a natural expansion to the Canary
Islands cannot be ruled out. This process may also explain the record of the species in
an isolated locality at the very south of Gran Canaria. Future genetic analysis includ-
ing continental populations should be conducted to discern between both hypotheses.
The species is conspicuous with local abundance in the surroundings of Las Palmas
de Gran Canaria and it has been widely observed during the summer and autumn of
2020. The potential negative effects on native bees has not been evaluated yet, therefore
it is important to continue monitoring its spread on the island and to assess its possible
impacts on island ecosystems. These results provide an example of the potentiality of
social media and citizen science for exotic species early detection and monitoring.

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank all the social media users who provided photos and informa-
tion regarding X. pubescens in Gran Canaria. We are indebted to José Mateo Lépez for
reporting the presence of the species, Sergio Viera for the specimen collected for DNA
identification, Carlos Velazquez for the specimen collected in Playa del Inglés and to
Ana Asensio for the molecular work. Two anonymous referees made valuable com-
ments that have much improved the manuscript. P. De la Rua is supported by Project
19908/GERM/2015 of Regional Excellence (Fundacién Séneca).

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