The orchid-bee faunas (Hymenoptera: Apidae) of two Atlantic Forest remnants in southern Bahia, eastern Brazil

Abstract

The orchid-bee faunas of the 'Parque Nacional do Pau Brasil' (8,500 ha) and 'RPPN Estação Veracel' (6,000 ha), two Atlantic Forest remnants in the southern state of Bahia, northeastern Brazil, were surveyed. Seventeen chemical compounds were used as scent baits to attract orchid-bee males. Seven hundred and twelve males belonging to 20 species were actively collected with insect nets during 80 hours in February and April, 2009. Euglossa marianae Nemésio, 2011, the most sensitive orchid-bee species of the Atlantic Forest, was recorded at both preserves, though in low abundance. 'RPPN Estação Veracel' is the smallest forest patch where Euglossa marianae has ever been recorded.Keywords: Atlantic Forest, conservation, Euglossina, euglossine bees, Hexapoda. As faunas de abelhas-das-orquídeas (Hymenoptera: Apidae) de dois remanescentes de Mata Atlântica do sul da Bahia, leste do Brasil ResumoAs faunas de abelhas-das-orquídeas do Parque Nacional do Pau-Brasil (8,500 ha) e da RPPN Estação Veracel (6,000 ha), dois remanescentes de Mata Atlântica no sul da Bahia, Nordeste do Brasil, foram amostradas. Dezessete iscas atrativas a machos de abelhas-das-orquídeas foram utilizadas. Setecentos e doze machos pertencentes a 20 espécies foram coletados com o uso de redes entomológicas durante 80 horas, em fevereiro e abril de 2009. Euglossa marianae Nemésio, 2011, a espécie de abelha euglossina mais dependente de ambientes florestais, foi registrada nas duas áreas, embora pouco abundante. A RPPN Estação Veracel é a menor área onde essa espécie já foi coletada.Palavras-chave: Mata Atlântica, conservação, Euglossina, abelhas euglossinas, Hexapoda.

Rapid assessment of the orchid bee fauna (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Euglossini) in the vicinity of an urban Atlantic Forest remnant in São Paulo, Brazil

“…Males of Euglossa cordata and Eulaema nigrita demonstrated a preference of cineol (326 and 55 individuals, respectively) as also observed in other surveys in the Atlantic Forest (Rocha-Filho and Garófalo, 2014). Cineol is an important scent to collect orchid bees and one of the most volatile compound; thus, it is essential to recharge this scent regularly during the collecting days (Nemésio, 2013a).…”

The Orchid Bee Communities in different phytophysiognomies in the Atlantic Forest: from lowland to montane rainforests

“…The region is known as an important endemism area for several taxonomic groups, and has been considered one of the most important in the Atlantic Forest (Franke et al, 2005;Nemésio, 2013a). The orchid bee fauna of the Central Atlantic Forest Corridor was studied in the southern portion of Bahia (Nemésio, 2013a;Nemésio, 2013b;Nemésio, 2013c;Nemésio, 2014) and in a region near to our study area (Rosa et al, 2015). However, large variations have been observed in orchid bee communities, even in neighboring regions, which could be related to habitat heterogeneity (Tonhasca et al, 2002b).…”

Effects of climate change and habitat loss on a forest‐dependent bee species in a tropical fragmented landscape

“…Even in these areas, its density is usually higher in the interior of forests, being rare or even absent at the edges (e.g. Tonhasca et al ., ; Nemésio & Silveira, ; Nemésio, , , ,b,c,d; Nemésio & Santos Júnior, ), suggesting a very limited dispersal capability, a fact already observed for other orchid bees (Raw, ; Morato et al ., ; Morato, ; Tonhasca et al ., ). More important, recent studies have suggested that E. marianae has disappeared in areas where it had occurred and declined significantly in areas where it was recently abundant (Nemésio, , ).…”

“…18 500 ha (Nemésio, ); (vi) RPPN Estação Veracel, Santa Cruz Cabrália, Bahia, ca . 6000 ha (Nemésio, ); (vii) Parque Nacional do Pau Brasil, Porto Seguro, Bahia, ca . 10 000 ha (Nemésio, ); (viii) Parque Nacional do Monte Pascoal, Porto Seguro, Bahia, ca .…”

“…We used 37 georeferenced occurrences of E. marianae to produce our models. We obtained this data from field samples, literature (Bonilla‐Gómez, ; Tonhasca et al ., ; Nemésio & Silveira, ; Ramalho et al ., ; Nemésio, , , ,b, ,b,c,d; Faria & Melo, ; Cordeiro et al ., ; Nemésio & Santos Júnior, ), and museum collections. Exact locations of all our field samplings can be obtained in Nemésio and Vasconcelos (: 1649–1650) and Nemésio and Santos Júnior (: 80–81).…”