A database and synthesis of euglossine bee assemblages collected at fragrance baits

Øystein H. Opedal,Emma-Liina Marjakangas,Adriana A. Martins

doi:10.1007/s13592-020-00739-4

Øystein H. Opedal, Emma-Liina Marjakangas + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s13592-020-00739-4

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Abstract

Euglossine bees are an ecologically important group, which due to their diverse resource needs act as pollinators of many neotropical plants. Male euglossines collect fragrant compounds used in mating displays from diverse sources, including the flowers of orchids and other plants. This aspect of euglossine biology has proven exceptionally useful for studies of euglossine bee populations, because male bees can be readily attracted to fragrance baits deployed in natural habitats. We synthesise the data accumulated over the 50 years since the introduction of euglossine bee baiting inventories and make these data openly available in the EUGCOMM database. By fitting hierarchical joint species distribution models to presence-absence and abundance data, we reveal that the assemblages of bees attracted depend on the baits used in interaction with species-specific fragrance preferences and that bee assemblages are most diverse at sites in landscapes characterised by partial but not complete forest cover. We suggest that these results reflect the diverse resource needs of euglossine bees and are consistent with the hypothesis that male euglossines establish home ranges incorporating multiple habitat types. These results may have important consequences for the design of nature reserves in the tropics, if these iconic pollinators are to be conserved for the future.

Highlights

Euglossine bees (‘orchid bees’; Hymenoptera: Apidae: Euglossini) are important pollinators of many neotropical plants (Dressler 1968; Janzen 1971; Williams and Dodson 1972; Armbruster and Webster 1979; Ramírez et al 2011)
Fifty years after the discovery that males of most euglossine bee species can be readily attracted to fragrance baits (Dodson et al 1969), a substantial amount of data has accumulated on the distribution, diversity, and abundance of euglossine bees
The standardised and efficient sampling made possible by attracting male euglossines to baits makes the data presented here useful for asking general questions about community structure and speciesenvironment relationships

Summary

Introduction

Euglossine bees (‘orchid bees’; Hymenoptera: Apidae: Euglossini) are important pollinators of many neotropical plants (Dressler 1968; Janzen 1971; Williams and Dodson 1972; Armbruster and Webster 1979; Ramírez et al 2011). Female euglossines collect plant resins for use in nest construction and pollen to provision larval nest cells (Dressler 1982; Armbruster 1984; Rocha-Filho et al 2012; Villanueva-Gutierrez et al 2013), and male euglossines collect fragrances from diverse sources including rotting wood, fragrant fungi, faeces, and the flowers of orchids and other plants (Whitten et al 1993; Roubik and Hanson 2004; Ramírez et al 2011). Because a given habitat may not contain stable supplies of all these resources (nectar, pollen, resin and fragrances), Janzen (1981) suggested that male euglossines have large home ranges incorporating multiple habitat types, within which they would exhibit a nomadic ‘vagabond’ lifestyle and find fragrances, nectar and mates (females) in different habitats (see Ackerman et al 1982; Armbruster 1993)

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