Diversity of flower visiting bees of Eugenia uniflora L. (Myrtaceae) in fragments of Atlantic Forest in South Brazil

Abstract

Eugenia uniflora L. (Myrtaceae) is pollinated mostly by bees and there are no restrictions for pollen collection in their flowers. This stimulated us to study the bee diversity on its flowers in two forest fragments in southern Brazil, in August and September, 2012. A total of 826 bees belonging to 39 species and four subfamilies were captured with entomological nets. Halictinae presented the greatest richness, followed by Apinae, Colletinae and Andreninae. Apis mellifera was the only common species and the most abundant, followed by Scaptotrigona bipunctata and Melipona obscurior. Seven species were classified as intermediate and 31 as rare. Highest numbers of bees were collected from 10h to 11:30, and The species richness of flower visiting bees was much higher than that of previous studies with first records of Plebeia remota and Anthrenoides paolae. Eugenia uniflora is a food source for exotic and native bees and possibly contributes to the conservation of these bees in forest fragments. In return, the bees probably act in maintaining this plant native of the Atlantic Forest.

Keywords

• Species richness
• Halictinae
• Apis mellifera
• Scaptotrigona bipunctata
• Anthrenoides paolae.