Diversity and abundance of orchid bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae, Euglossini) in a tropical rainforest succession

Abstract

Composicion de Abejas Euglossinas (Hymenoptera: Apidae, Euglossini) en una Sucesión de Selva Tropical RESUMEN -Las abejas euglossinas macho, son fácilmente atraídas por los cebos químicos que imitan las fragancias naturales recolectadas por las abejas, proporcionando así una medida de la diversidad y abundancia extensamente aplicada para estas abejas. En este estudio documento la composicion de las abejas euglossinas en tres hábitats de la selva baja del Perú (Loreto), tales como un bosque primario, un bosque reforestado y manejado, y un bosque muy deforestado. A partir de 2.072 abejas capturadas perteneciendo a 33 especies y cuatro géneros, encontré una diversidad comparable a otros estudios de la región Amazónica, pero no encontré ninguna diferencia signifi cativa entre los hábitats muestreados. Quizás por que los muestreos de las abejas euglossinas de corta duración (< 3 meses), tal como este caso, no son buenos indicadores del estado del bosque sin datos adicionales. Comparado a otros estudios de la fauna de las abejas euglossinas, Loreto es el más similar en especies a las especies reportadas de Brasil (Manaus), de Perú central (Panguana) y luego de Perú meridional (Tambopata). PALABRAS-CLAVE: Euglossa, Eulaema, Eufriesea, Exaerete, Jaccard indice, Sørensen indiceABSTRACT -Euglossine bee males are easily lured to chemical baits imitating natural fragrances gathered by bees, providing a widely applied measure for estimating the diversity and abundance of euglossines. In here, I report the composition of euglossine bees in three lowland rainforest habitats of Peru, a primary old forest, a reforested and managed forest, and a very disturbed forest. A total of 2,072 males of euglossine were collected, belonging to 33 species and four genera. Although a comparable diversity relative to other studies from the Amazonian region was found, no signifi cant differences among the sampled areas were detected. Perhaps, the short time and low intensity surveys here used (< 3 months) were not good enough indicators of forest disturbance without additional data. Compared to other major studies on the euglossine bee fauna, Loreto is most similar to the species assemblage reported from lowland rainforest in Brazil (Manaus), central Peru (Panguana) and southern Peru (Tambopata).

Is the “Centro de Endemismo Pernambuco” a biodiversity hotspot for orchid bees?

“…Ackerman, 1983Ackerman, , 1989Janzen et al, 1982;Pearson and Dressler, 1985;Roubik and Ackerman, 1987;Powell and Powell, 1987;Nemésio and Silveira, 2006a, b, 2007a, 2010Rasmussen, 2009;Abrahamczyk et al, 2011;Nemésio and Vasconcelos, 2013). The ease of collecting their males, which are strongly and readily attracted to synthetic aromatic scents that mimic natural floral fragrances (Vogel, 1966;Dodson et al, 1969), greatly contributes to the popularity of field studies involving these bees.…”

“…Roubik, 2004b;Oliveira, 2006;Rasmussen and Skov, 2006;Nemésio, 2006Nemésio, , 2007Nemésio, , 2008Nemésio, , 2009Nemésio, , 2010aNemésio, , 2011bNemésio, , c, d, 2012aAyala and Engel, 2008;Bembé, 2008;Hinojosa-Díaz and Engel, 2011a, b;Hinojosa-Díaz et al, 2011Nemésio and Engel, 2012), faunistic and ecological studies in the last decade have been mainly focused on the Atlantic Forest of eastern Brazil (e.g. Bezerra and Martins, 2001;Tonhasca Júnior et al, 2002;Santos and Sofia, 2002;Martins and Souza, 2005;MiletPinheiro and Schlindwein 2005;Darrault et al, 2006;Nemésio and Silveira, 2006b, 2007a, 2010Farias et al, 2007;Farias et al 2008;Aguiar andGaglianone, 2008, 2011;Moura and Schlindwein, 2009;Nemésio, 2010bNemésio, , 2011aNemésio, , b, e, 2012cMattozo et al, 2011;Cordeiro et al, 2013;Nemésio and Vasconcelos, 2013), although a few studies have also been conducted in the Amazon Morato, 2004, 2006;StorckTonon et al, 2009;Rasmussen, 2009;Abrahamczyk et al, 2011;Nemésio et al, 2014).…”

The orchid-bee fauna (Hymenoptera: Apidae) of a forest remnant in the southern portion of the Brazilian Amazon

“…Synthetic aromatic scents that mimic the floral fragrances attractive to male orchid bees have been used since the late 1960's (Vogel, 1966;Dodson et al, 1969) as powerful tools in field studies involving these bees (e.g. Nemésio and Silveira, 2006, 2007, 2010Rasmussen, 2009;Abrahamczyk et al, 2011). These studies eventually led to the discovery of a previously unknown astonishing diversity among orchid bees (e.g.…”

“…Pearson and Dressler, 1985;Dressler, 1985;Powell and Powell, 1987;Becker et al, 1991;Morato, 1994;Oliveira and Campos, 1996;Bembé, 2002;Morato, 2004, 2006;Rasmussen, 2009;Storck-Tonon et al, 2009Abrahamczyk et al, 2011;Nemésio et al, 2014), the orchid-bee fauna of the state of Rondônia, southwestern Amazonia, is virtually unknown. The region of Porto Velho, state of Rondônia, is of particular interest due to its singular location, at the southern limits of the Amazon and in the transition between lowland rainforest and the "Cerradão", a more xeric, savanna-like vegetation with tall trees.…”

The orchid-bee fauna (Hymenoptera: Apidae) of ‘RPPN Feliciano Miguel Abdala’ revisited: relevant changes in community composition

“…Surveys of orchid bees in previously unsampled areas became an important part of orchid-bee studies, in order to fully understand the actual diversity of the group and, also, establish their precise geographic distributions (e.g. Braga, 1976;Powell and Powell, 1987;Rebêlo and Garófalo, 1991;1997;Morato et al, 1992;Morato, 1994;Oliveira and Campos, 1995;Bonilla-Gómez, 1999;Bezerra and Martins, 2001;Santos and Sofia, 2002;Tonhasca Jr. et al, 2002;Nemésio and Silveira, 2006, 2007, 2010Rasmussen, 2009;Nemésio and Vasconcelos, 2013).…”