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<font size=2>MacIvor, J. S. and A. E. Moore (2013). "Bees collect
polyurethane and polyethylene plastics as novel nest materials."
<u>Ecosphere</u> <b>4</b>(12): art155.<br><br>
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Plastic waste pervades the global landscape. Although adverse impacts on
both species and ecosystems have been documented, there are few
observations of behavioral flexibility and adaptation in species,
especially insects, to increasingly plastic-rich environments. Here, two
species of megachilid bee are described independently using different
types of polyurethane and polyethylene plastics in place of natural
materials to construct and close brood cells in nests containing
successfully emerging brood. The plastics collected by each bee species
resembled the natural materials usually sought; Megachile rotundata,
which uses cut plant leaves, was found constructing brood cells out of
cut pieces of polyethylene-based plastic bags, and Megachile campanulae,
which uses plant and tree resins, had brood cells constructed out of a
polyurethane-based exterior building sealant. Although perhaps
incidentally collected, the novel use of plastics in the nests of bees
could reflect ecologically adaptive traits necessary for survival in an
increasingly human-dominated environment.<br><br>
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