First assessment of the orchid-bee fauna (Hymenoptera: Apidae) at Parque Estadual do Rio Preto, a cerrado area in southeastern Brazil

Abstract

Male euglossine bees were sampled with chemical attractants in September 2003 at five sites at Parque Estadual do Rio Preto, Minas Gerais state, Brazil. Two sites were located in typical "cerrado" area, two in gallery forests and one in "campo rupestre" formation. We collected 222 bees of ten species; Euglossa melanotricha was the most common at every site, followed by Euglossa fimbriata, and cineole was the most attractive bait. Comparisons with Atlantic Forest fragments suggest a relatively high diversity of orchid bees in the cerrado domain. Keywords: Euglossina, chemical baits, Insecta.