Diversity of the euglossine bee community (Hymenoptera, Apidae) of an atlantic forest remnant in southeastern Brazil

Abstract

Diversity of the euglossine bee community (Hymenoptera, Apidae) of an Atlantic Forest remnant in southeastern Brazil. Euglossine bees, attracted to scent baits of cineole, eugenol and vanillin, were collected with entomological nets, from December 1998 to November 1999. Samplings were carried out once a month simultaneously by two collectors positioned in two different sites in an Atlantic Forest remnant in northeastern São Paulo state, Brazil. A total of 859 male euglossine bees, belonging to 13 species and four Euglossini genera were collected. Of the total sample, 506 (12 species) males were captured at site A and 353 (10 species) were collected at site B. In both sites, Euglossa pleosticta Dressler, 1982 was the most abundant species (45.79%), followed by Eulaema nigrita Lepeletier, 1841 (20.79%). The results of this study supply new information about the diversity of orchid bee fauna in Atlantic Forest remnants as well as show that more than one site is needed to sample these bees in a fragmented landascape.