Vol. 6, Issue 10, Part O (2020)

Abstract
Bees are keystone species playing a major role in the pollination of flowering plants worldwide. Despite their great ecological and economic values, in-depth knowledge of their ecology and community structure remains poorly documented especially in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) where, in addition, their diversity is threatened. To remedy to that situation, this study aims to describe the structure and organization of wild bees communities in Kinshasa. Three collecting sites with specific landscape have been selected in Kinshasa, namely Symphonies Naturelles, Funa Valley and Lutendele. The sampling period extends from January to December 2016. Each site is visited once a month during this period. For each site, a total of five plots of approximately 100 m² have been defined for sampling. Two sampling methods were used: entomological net collection and the cup trap technique, colored either yellow, blue or white. To describe the structure of wild bee communities, ecological indices of composition and structure were considered on the one hand, and on the other hand, Rank-Frequency Diagram (RDF) models, including the geometric, lognormal and broken stick model, were evaluated to characterize the distribution of species at each site. The results found indicate that the diversity of wild bees is positively correlated with the quantity or aggregation of the resources they value and when that quantity increases, the structure of their community tends towards the geometric model. This reflects a relatively homogenous community in which each species exploits the same fraction of available resources. This kind of community is observed in Symphonies Naturelles where the environment is relatively undisturbed. Whereas in Funa Valley (a disturbed environment) and Lutendele (an agricultural environment) limited quantity of resources leads to a decrease in wild bees diversity and the structure of their communities best fits the broken stick model, reflecting that these communities experience a random resources sharing. Nevertheless, the ecological indices used in this study indicate that, despite environmental pressures, Kinshasa still maintains a significant diversity of wild bee species.