-The aim of this work was to study communities of euglossine bees in three fragments of semideciduous forest with different sizes (8.5 ha, 86 ha and 2280 ha), in Northern Paraná State (Brazil). From November 2001 through April 2002 males of euglossine bees were sampled using chemical baits. A total of 245 males from four genera and seven species visited the baits. In the largest fragment were sampled 152 males of 6 species, in the medium, 45 males of five species and, in the smallest, 48 males of seven species. The diversity (H') and species evenness (J') varied from 1.21 to 1.42 and from 0.62 to 0.86, respectively. A change in abundance order of species was verified in the different areas. Apparently, a reduction on fragment size affected negatively the frequency of Eufriesea violacea Blanchard, the most common species (43.4%) in the largest fragment and the fourth (8.3%) in the smallest one. The results suggest the need of maintenance of large forest areas to keep viable populations of this and probably other species of euglossine bees.

Edited by Fernando B Noll -UNESP Neotropical Entomology 38(5):610-615 (2009) ABSTRACT -Eufriesea violacea (Blanchard) is a very seasonal euglossine species, more frequently found in the southern and southeastern regions of Brazil. A number of studies have revealed large variations in the abundance of males of this species present in Atlantic Forest remnants throughout both regions. In this paper, we report variations in the abundance of E. violacea males sampled in several forest patches of different sizes (ranging from 10 to 580 ha), and we propose that this species is possibly sensitive to the reduction in size of forest remnants. Surveys were carried out in nine forest remnants of Atlantic rainforest located in northern Paraná State, southern Brazil. Male euglossine bees were collected with an entomological net when visiting scent-baits, between 10:00 am and 1:00 pm, from October to December of 2001 and 2006. A total of 360 E. violacea males were captured in the nine forest fragments studied. The number of bees attracted to scent baits in each forest patch varied from zero to 261. A very high association (r = 0.993) was detected between the forest patch size and the visitation rate of E. violacea males at different sites, with the highest mean number of males visiting baits/sampling (43.5) being observed for bees from the largest forest remnant. Although alternative hypothesis should not be discharged for the decline in the abundance or absence of E. violacea in small forest patches, our results indicate that populations of this euglossine species need larger forest areas for existing.

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Although this polymorphism did not demonstrate potential as a prognostic marker, it may be a suitable susceptibility marker for BC.

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