Euglossa aratingae Nemésio, 2009

Nemésio, André, 2012, Species of Euglossa Latreille, 1802 (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Euglossina) belonging to the purpurea species group occurring in eastern Brazil, with description of Euglossa monnei sp. n., Zootaxa 3151, pp. 35-52 : 39

Euglossa aratingae Nemésio, 2009

Nemésio (2009: 108) listed the geographic distribution of this species as from the state of Bahia, in the north, to the state of Paraná, in the south. In the present study its geographic distribution is greatly (over 1,000 km) extended northwards. One male Euglossa aratingae was collected during a survey on cotton flowers ( Gossypium sp.; Malvaceae ) in the municipality of Remígio (06°54’10”S; 35°50’02”W, ca. 590 m a.s.l.), state of Paraíba, northeastern Brazil. This specimen was collected in a blue pan-trap on October 9th, 2010 and is deposited at UFMG (numbered 20949-60042).

Eight males were also collected among ca. 15,000 specimens in the “Hileia Baiana”, in the following localities ( Fig. 2 ): (i) a forest remnant inside the campus of UESC (Ilhéus, Bahia); (ii) REBIO Una; (iii) PN Monte Pascoal; (iv) a non-protected forest fragment of ca. 300 ha in Itamaraju; (v) REBIO Córrego Grande (Conceição da Barra, Espírito Santo); REBIO Córrego do Veado (Pinheiros, Espírito Santo). One additional male was collected at REBIO Mata Escura, in northeastern Minas Gerais. All these specimens were attracted to cineole, except one, from REBIO Córrego Grande, collected at vanillin bait. This species seems to be poorly attracted to the scents commonly used in orchid-bee inventories, although it is widely distributed in eastern Brazil, including the drier portions of the Atlantic Forest (see Nemésio 2009: 108). If this is true, its apparent rarity may be an artifact of sampling.

Figures

FIGURE 2. Map showing the known geographic distribution of Euglossa aratingae Nemésio, 2009 (black circles) and Euglossa anodorhynchi Nemésio, 2006 (black squares) in the Neotropics.