Euglossine bees (Hymenoptera, Apidae) in a remnant of Atlantic Forest in Paraná State, Brazil

Silvia H Sofia,Aline M Dos Santos,Carlos R M Da Silva

doi:10.1590/s0073-47212004000200015

Silvia H Sofia, Aline M Dos Santos + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.1590/s0073-47212004000200015

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Abstract

Species composition, relative abundance, seasonal changes in the species abundance and scent association of male Euglossini collected in a semi-deciduous forest fragment in the north of the State of Paraná, southern Brazil, were recorded. Euglossine males were collected twice a month, for twelve months, from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm. The scents eucalyptol, eugenol, vanillin, methyl salicylate and benzyl acetate were used as baits. A total of 434 males distributed among 3 genera and 9 species were attracted to the chemical baits. Eufriesea violacea (Blanchard, 1840) (49.8%), Eulaema nigrita Lepeletier, 1841 (23.0%) and Euglossa pleosticta Dressler, 1982 (13.8%) were dominant in number of individuals. Among the non-dominant species, Euglossa fimbriata Rebêlo & Moure, 1995 was more common (9.0%), followed by E. cordata (L., 1758) (1.8%), E. truncata Rebêlo & Moure, 1995 (1.4%), E. melanotricha Moure, 1967 (0.7%), E. townsendi Cockerell, 1904 (0.23%) and Eufriesea auriceps Friese, 1899 (0.23%). In general, bees were more abundant in warm-wet season (September-March). Eufriesea violacea was the most seasonal species, showing activity through the warm-wet season, from October to February. Eucalyptol was the most attractive fragrance, which was responsible for 92.6% of all visits by euglossine bees.

Highlights

Euglossine bees are important pollinators of many families of angiosperms (ZUCCHI et al, 1969; JANZEN, 1971; DRESSLER, 1982; PEARSON & DRESSLER, 1985). Both female and male euglossine bees often fly long distances between dispersed resources, making them especially significant in cross-pollination of widely scattered plant species in neotropical forests (DRESSLER, 1968a; JANZEN, 1971; WILLIAMS & DODSON, 1972). They are commonly known as orchid bees because the males are frequently found visiting orchids to collect floral chemical fragrances (DRESSLER, 1968b, 1982), which they probably use as precursors to sex pheromones (DODSON et al, 1969; WILLIAMS & WITTHEN, 1983; BUCHMANN & NABHAM, 1996)
The general pattern of bee abundance in MG was similar to those in other studies, showing that most species are represented by a small number of individuals, while a small number of species are represented by a large number of individuals (RICKLEFS et al, 1969; JANZEN et al, 1982; ACKERMAN, 1983b; OLIVEIRA & CAMPOS, 1995; REBÊLO & GARÓFALO, 1997; SILVA & REBÊLO, 2002)
A low frequency of Eufriesea auriceps Friese 1899, Euglossa townsendi Cockerell, 1904 and E. melanotricha Moure, 1967 was verified by other authors (REBÊLO & GARÓFALO, 1991; NEVES & VIANA, 1997; REBÊLO & CABRAL, 1997; GARÓFALO et al, 1998) and could be related to the low association of these euglossine species to the scent used as baits (REBÊLO & GARÓFALO, 1991), since many studies revealed that not all euglossine species present in a habitat were attracted to scent baits (ACKERMAN, 1983b; PEARSON & DRESSLER, 1985; REBÊLO & GARÓFALO, 1991; BEZERRA & MARTINS, 2001)

Summary

Introduction

Euglossine bees are important pollinators of many families of angiosperms (ZUCCHI et al, 1969; JANZEN, 1971; DRESSLER, 1982; PEARSON & DRESSLER, 1985) Both female and male euglossine bees often fly long distances between dispersed resources, making them especially significant in cross-pollination of widely scattered plant species in neotropical forests (DRESSLER, 1968a; JANZEN, 1971; WILLIAMS & DODSON, 1972). In Brazil, euglossine bees studies have been developed primarily in Amazonian Forest (BECKER et al, 1991; OLIVEIRA, 1999; SILVA & REBÊLO, 2002) and in Atlantic Rainforest remnants (PERUQUETTI et al, 1999; BEZERRA & MARTINS, 2001; SANTOS & SOFIA, 2002)

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