Levantamento da fauna de abelhas silvestres na "zona da mata" de Minas Gerais: III. Mata secundária na região de Viçosa (Hymenoptera, Apoidea)

Abstract

SURVEY OF THE WILD BEES OF THE "ZONA DA MATA" OF MINAS GERAIS, BRAZIL. III. SECONDARY FOREST lN ViÇOSA REGION (HYMENOPTERA, APOIDEA). The outcome of a wild bee fauna survey in a secondal)' forest is reported. Sampling was carried out mainly on herbaceous and shrubbyvegetation under and at the border ofthe forest. Results are compared with data collected with the same methodology from a previously surveyed grassland nearby. The secondal)' forest was ri cher in A nthophoridae and Apidae species, and less diverse in Megachilidae. Similarity between the two habitats was low. Several unidentified species of Ceratinula, Trichocerapis mirabilis and the sti ngless bees Melipona bicolor, M. quadrifasciata, M. marginata, Paratrlgona s ubnuda, Scaptotrigona tubiba and S. xanthotricha, are among the species dependent on the forest environment to survive. Bee population densities in lhe forest understol)' are as large as the largest values found for open vegetation in Southeastern Brazil; species richness is also comparable to those of other areas in Southeastern Brazil. Sampling strategies are discussed.