Eulaema

Abstract: A detailed synopsis of all the orchid-bee species known to occur in the Atlantic Forest Domain, eastern Brazil, is provided, including synonymy, complete type data, diagnoses, relevant data on biology and geographic distribution (with detailed localities of known occurrence of each species), colorful illustrations of onomatophores (“name-bearing type specimens”), and a list with the main references dealing with each species Fifty-four species are recognized to occur in the Atlantic Forest Domain Identification keys are presented for each genus and their species occurring in the Atlantic Forest Euglossa carinilabris Dressler, 1982, Euglossa cyanaspis Moure, 1968, Eulaema (Eulaema) niveofasciata (Friese, 1899) and Exaerete lepeletieri Oliveira & Nemesio, 2003, considered junior synonyms of other species by different authors, are reinstated as valid species A full discussion on the status of the four orchid-bee species described by Linnaeus is presented, as well as colorful illustrations of the four onomatophores The two existing onomatophores of orchid bee species described by Fabricius are also illustrated and his Apis cingulata has been shown to be the species recently described as Eulaema (Apeulaema) pseudocingulata Oliveira, 2006, which, thus, becomes a junior synonym (syn n) Euglossa aratingae sp n, Euglossa carolina sp n, Euglossa nanomelanotricha sp n, Euglossa roderici sp n, Euglossa roubiki sp n, Eulaema (Eulaema) atleticana sp n, and Eulaema (Apeulaema) marcii sp n are described as new species Neotypes are designated for Eufriesea violacea (Blanchard, 1840) and Exaerete frontalis (Guerin-Meneville, 1844) Some corrections concerning the repository institutions of some onomatophores of orchid bees were also made: Eufriesea auriceps (Friese, 1899) holotype has been listed as belonging to the US National Museum (Washington) or to the American Museum of Natural History (New York) but, in fact, it belongs to the Zoologisches Museum der Humboldt Universitat (Berlin); the lectotype of Eufriesea aeneiventris (Mocsary, 1896) has been listed as belonging to the Istituto e Museo di Zoologia, Universita di Torino (Turin), but it actually belongs to the Hungarian Museum of Natural History (Budapest) Publication dates of both Exaerete frontalis Guerin-Meneville and Exaerete smaragdina Guerin-Meneville have been listed as 1845 but, in fact, the actual date is 1844 Based on the known geographic distribution and abundance of each species in orchid-bee inventories, IUCN criteria were applied and three species are recommended to be included in future lists of threatened species in one of the IUCN categories of risk: Eufriesea brasilianorum (Friese, 1899) and Euglossa cognata Moure, 1970 are suggested to be listed as “vulnerable”, and Euglossa cyanocholora Moure, 1996 is suggested to be listed as “endangered” A fully annotated check list of all known orchid bee species is also presented as an Appendix

Abstract: It has been known for some time that male bees of the tribe Euglossini visit and often pollinate various orchid flowers (Dodson and Frymire, 1961a, 1961b; Dodson, 1962, 1967; Vogel, 1963, 1966; van der Pijl and Dodson, 1966; Dressler, 1967, 1968a, 1968b). The syndrome of "euglossine pollination" was discussed by Dressler (1968b). He noted that the orchid flowers that are pollinated exclusively by male euglossine bees are very fragrant, but are almost always lacking in nectar; therefore, no food is present. The source of the attraction was recognized as the fragrance of the flower, but the identity of the odor components was not known for a number of years. Eleven compounds from orchid floral fragrances were identified (Hills et al., 1968), but only some of the compounds were shown to be attractants of male euglossine bees (Adams, 1968; Dodson et al., 1969). Adams showed that some of the compounds from orchid fragrances modified the attraction potential of other fragrance components, and that some of the compounds were not attractive to male euglossine bees. Several additional compounds have been identified from orchid floral fragrances (Dodson and Williams, unpublished), some of which have been demonstrated in field tests to be active attractants of male euglossines, while other compounds have been shown to modify or reduce the attraction potential of various other odor components. The behavior of the bees on the flowers and at the isolated odor components has

Abstract: Seasonal changes in species richness, composition, and abundance of male euglossine bees were determined by weekly censusing of individuals attracted to 16 chemical baits. Bee popu- lations were monitored for > 1 yr in the lowland tropical moist forest of seasonally dry Barro Colorado Island (BCI), Panama. Male euglossine bees were also censused once every 4 wk at three nearby mainland sites, two at low elevation, and one at a middle-elevation locality. Among the lowland sites the male euglossine bee communities varied little; species composition, dominance ranks, species' phenological profiles, and seasonal changes in bee abundance were similar. Male bee populations at these sites were probably influenced by factors of similar timing and mag- nitude. In contrast, the male bee community of the upland locality differed from lowlands in species composition and timing of seasonal fluctuations in bee abundance. At all census sites the male euglossine bee community had four genera (Eulaema, Euglossa, Eufriesia, and Exaerete), 33-44 censused species, and low evenness of species abundance. On BCI, the relative abundance of individuals in the four genera was not constant throughout the year. Species richness and bee abundance were correlated; both fluctuated seasonally, and peaked in the early wet season. However, species composition, evenness, and dominance ranks were virtually nonseasonal, so some structural continuity existed in the male euglossine bee community.

Abstract: The orchid bees constitute a clade of prominent insect pollinators distributed throughout the Neotropical region. Males of all species collect fragrances from natural sources, including flowers, decaying vegetation and fungi, and store them in specialized leg pockets to later expose during courtship display. In addition, orchid bees provide pollination services to a diverse array of Neotropical angiosperms when foraging for food and nesting materials. However, despite their ecological importance, little is known about the evolutionary history of orchid bees. Here, we present a comprehensive molecular phylogenetic analysis based on ∼4.0 kb of DNA from four loci [cytochrome oxidase (CO1), elongation factor 1-α (EF1-α), arginine kinase (ArgK) and RNA polymerase II (Pol-II)] across the entire tribe Euglossini, including all five genera, eight subgenera and 126 of the approximately 200 known species. We investigated lineage diversification using fossil-calibrated molecular clocks and the evolution of morphological traits using disparity-through-time plots. In addition, we inferred past biogeographical events by implementing model-based likelihood methods. Our dataset supports a new view on generic relationships and indicates that the cleptoparasitic genus Exaerete is sister to the remaining orchid bee genera. Our divergence time estimates indicate that extant orchid bee lineages shared a most recent common ancestor at 27–42 Mya. In addition, our analysis of morphology shows that tongue length and body size experienced rapid disparity bursts that coincide with the origin of diverse genera (Euglossa and Eufriesea). Finally, our analysis of historical biogeography indicates that early diversification episodes shared a history on both sides of Mesoamerica, where orchid bees dispersed across the Caribbean, and through a Panamanian connection, thus reinforcing the hypothesis that recent geological events (e.g. the formation of the isthmus of Panama) contributed to the diversification of the rich Neotropical biota. © 2010 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2010, 100, 552–572.