ABSTRACT. Bee fauna and associated flora from a grassland site in Brazil, surveyed 40 and 20 years ago, were newly surveyed with comparable methodology to evaluate changes in the bee fauna of this site, considering that human population and urbanization has exponentially increased in the last 40 years. In general, bee species richness has declined in 22%, as well as their abundance. Some of the previously abundant species are now absent, including Bombus bellicosus Smith, 1879, Gaesischia fulgurans (Holmberg, 1903) and Thectochlora basiatra (Strand, 1910). No particular trend of differential decrease among either taxonomic or functional groups was observed, except for a minor increase in the proportion of oligolectic species and a 50% reduction in the number of large species. The first two surveys were more similar to each other in species richness per bee genus, while the two most recent grouped together based on measures of anthropogenic impact. Furthermore, the number of plant species visited by bees increased, with a pronounced increase in ruderal and exotic species. Crop cultivation, competition with honeybees and climate changes may all be related to bee decline. Nevertheless, the effects of urbanization, in particular intense land occupation and few preserved natural areas can be pointed as the main causes of species decline. Due to continuing increase in human population, increased erosion in diversity is expected. Habitat protection is an additional challenge to bee conservation in the region, with no local conservation units set aside for grasslands. State and municipal agencies should urgently consider the establishment of reserves for the few remaining patches of natural grasslands.

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A higher-level classification of bees, in which the entire group is treated as a single family - the Apidae - is advocated here. A total of seven subfamilies, 51 tribes and 27 subtribes are recognized. These subfamilies correspond to the families adopted in the traditional classification. Although the proposed changes do not involve any major rearrangement, basically only changing the rank given to the main groups, the new system makes the classification of bees more consistent with that adopted for other major groups of aculeate Hymenoptera. It also departs from the 19th century practice, perpetuated in the traditional classification, of giving family-status to the main groups of bees. A correspondence table associating the taxon names used in the current traditional classification with those of the revised classification is presented. Scrapterini new tribe (type-genus Scrapter Lepeletier & Serville) is proposed to accommodate the southern African genus Scrapter.

The Augochlorini Beebe is a New World tribe of bees comprising 663 described species. Relationships among the genera of this monophyletic tribe remain uncertain. Here I provide a comprehensive phylogeny using morphological and molecular information. In all, 54 Augochlorini species plus 16 outgroups and 3017 molecular and 105 morphological characters were analysed. Sequences for four genes were analysed using Bayesian inference, maximum likelihood and parsimony. Morphological characters were taken from a literature review and analysed alone and in combination with molecular data using parsimony. The monophyly of Augochlorini and most genera is confirmed, with divergence of the main lineages of the tribe around 55-20 Ma.

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ABSTRACT. The bee community (Hymenoptera, Apidae s. l.) in a restricted area of native grassland in the Vila Velha State Park, Paraná: diversity, phenology and food plants. A standardized survey of bees visiting blooming plants in an area covered by natural grasslands in the Vila Velha State Park was conducted from October, 2002, to October, 2003. A total of 1552 specimens belonging to 181 species were collected. These species are distributed in 58 genera, 24 tribes and 5 subfamilies. The visited plants belong to 113 species, in 72 genera and 38 families. Megachile, with 20 species, was the richest genus, while Ceratina was the most abundant native genus. Apis mellifera was the most abundant species, with 28% of all bees collected. Among the native species, Bombus atratus was the most abundant. Monthly richness and equitability varied along the year, March being the richest, and November, the most equitable. As plantas visitadas correspondem a 113 espécies, em 72 gêneros e 38 famílias. Megachile com 20 espécies foi o gênero mais rico e Ceratina o gênero mais abundante dentre os gêneros nativos. Apis mellifera foi a espécie mais coletada, correspondendo a 28% do total de indivíduos, e Bombus atratus foi a espécie mais abundante dentre as abelhas nativas. A riqueza e a equitabilidade nos meses foram variáveis, sendo março o mais rico e novembro o de maior equitabilidade. Apesar de tradicionalmente considerados parte das estepes sulinas, os campos de Vila Velha apresentam uma fauna de abelhas contendo várias espécies típicas de cerrado. O igual número de espécies entre as subfamílias Apinae e Halictinae também apontam para uma peculiaridade de sua fauna. Listas de abelhas e plantas coletadas são apresentadas em anexo.

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Abstract. This paper revises the bees currently considered to belong to the genus Rhectomia s.l. and proposes a species phylogeny based on morphological characters, using other Corynurina as outgroups. The results indicate that Rhinocorynura Schrottky renders Rhectomia s.l. paraphyletic. Consequently, Corynurella is removed from synonymy with Rhectomia s.s., and Paracorynurellagen.n. is proposed. The topology among these genera is: outgroup [(Rhectomia s.s. + Rhinocorynura) (Paracorynurellagen.n. + Corynurella)]. Nine species are assigned to Corynurella: C. brokopondoisp.n., C. caeruleasp.n., C. cognatasp.n., C. decorasp.n., C. harrisoni (Engel), C. mourei Eickwort, C. nigrasp.n., C. singularissp.n. and C. triangulatasp.n. Three new species are described in Paracorynurellagen.n.: type species P. betoisp.n., P. excavatasp.n., P. reticulatasp.n.; P. difficillima (Ducke) comb.n. is transferred from Rhinocorynura. Three species are recognized in Rhectomia s.s.: R. catarinasp.n., R. liebherri Engel and R. pumilla Moure. The male of R. liebherri is described for the first time. Keys for the identification of the genera and species are provided.