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Temme, M.

Drohnen der Honigbiene Apis mellifera sind eine reguläre Nestlingsnahrung der Felsenschwalbe Ptyonoprogne rupestris in den Schweizer Alpen.

2012

109

295–300

Key words
(von 1994 bis 2006 vergeben)

Nahrung, Kotanalyse, Insekten

Schlagwort_Vogelart
(wissenschaftlich)

Ptyonoprogne rupestris, Hirundo rustica, Delichon urbicum

Schlagwort_Vogelart
(deutsch)

Felsenschwalbe, Rauchschwalbe, Mehlschwalbe

Wallis, Schweiz, Algarve, Portugal

deutsch

Abhandlung

Male honey bees Apis mellifera are a common food item for nestlings of the Eurasian Crag Martin Ptyonoprogne rupestris in the Swiss Alps. – Food studies of Eurasian Crag Martins are almost nonexistent. This analysis of samples of faeces, collected under 27 nests of Crag Martins in the canton of Valais in the Swiss Alps at altitude levels between 700 to 1300 m revealed considerable numbers of male honey bees (drones) fed to the nestlings. The highest accumulation of remains of drones found beneath one nest, in the village of Reckingen in the Rhone valley, was 84 individuals. The study method did not allow identification and quantitative estimates of all other insect species. However, a few dung beetles Aphodius sp. and several ants (Formicidae) could be identified, while not even one fragment of a lady beetle (Coccinellidae) was found. A sample obtained from a nest in southern Portugal showed a similar composition of insect remains to those in the Alps. This study shows that the insect food fed to the Crag Martin nestlings resembles more that of Barn Swallows Hirundo rustica than that of Common House Martins Delichon urbicum. These findings, in comparison with other studies in Europe and the USA suggest that the three species are collecting insect food more selectively as known up till now.