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Orchid bees of Ecuador

Exaerete frontalis
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Orchid bees are a fascinating Neotropical tribe of bees, although their common name refers to orchids, they also visit and pollinate a wide variety of plants. In addition to their ecological importance, these bees have very interesting behaviors, one of which is the one that the males carry out when they search for fragrances that certain plants produce to later be used as attractants for the females. But despite being so interesting, very little is known in Ecuador, that is why we work with the  Dr. David Roubick of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, in the first list of species for Ecuador, in which we recorded 115 species (see publication), we hope that this information can be used in the future to investigate ecological, ethological, taxonomic aspects  and evolutionary.

Publications:

2023. Padrón P.S., Campaña M., Burbano M. and Armijos M. Going up: new altitudinal records of orchid bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in the inter-Andean valleys of southern Ecuador and their potential dispersal route. Revista Chilena de Entomología (2023) 49 (4): 789-799

2021. Orchidarium. Joyas vulnerables de Colombia, Ecuador y otras regiones del Neotrópico. Book. Emmanuel Laverde Colaboración: David Haelterman , Sebastián Padrón, Esteban Dominguez, Jenny M. Cardona 

2018. Padron, P.S. David W. Roubik & Ruben P. Picon. A preliminary checklist of the orchid bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Euglossini) of Ecuador. Psyche: A Journal of Entomology. 

Preliminary list  of species of the Euglossini tribe for Ecuador 2018

Genus Aglae Lepeletier & Serville (1825) 

        Aglae coerulea Lepeletier & Serville, 1825 

Genus Eufriesea Cockerell (1908) 

       Eufriesea buchwaldi (Friese, 1923) 

       Eufriesea auripes (Gribodo, 1882)

       Eufriesea chrysopyga (Mocsa ́ry, 1898) 

       Eufriesea combinata (Mocsa ́ry, 1897) 

       Eufriesea concava (Friese, 1899)
       Eufriesea duckei (Friese, 1923) 

       Eufriesea excellens (Friese, 1925) 

       Eufriesea fragrocara (Kimsey, 1977) 

       Eufriesea longipennis (Friese, 1925) 

       Eufriesea lucida (Kimsey, 1977)

       Eufriesea lucifera Kimsey, 1977

       Eufriesea magrettii (Friese, 1899); synonym Eufriesea andina Friese, 1925 

       Eufriesea mussitans (Fabricius, 1787) 

       Eufriesea nigrescens (Friese, 1923)
      Eufriesea ornata (Mocsa ́ry, 1896) 

       Eufriesea opulenta (Mocsa ́ry, 1908)
      Eufriesea pretiosa (Friese, 1903) 

       Eufriesea pulchra (Smith, 1854) 

       Eufriesea purpurata (Mocsa ́ry, 1896) 

       Eufriesea superba (Hoffmannsegg, 1817) 
      Eufriesea surinamensis (Linnaeus, 1758) 

       Eufriesea theresiae (Mocsa ́ry, 1908) 

       Eufriesea venezolana (Schrottky, 1913)

Genus Euglossa Latreille (1802)

Subgenus Euglossa Latreille, 1802 

        Euglossa amazonica Dressler, 1982 

        Euglossa analis Westwood, 1840
       Euglossa avicula, Dressler, 1982 

        Euglossa auricollis Friese, 1923 Records: [18]. 

        Euglossa auriventris Friese, 1925
       Euglossa bidentata Dressler, 1982 

        Euglossa championi Cheesman, 1929
       Euglossa charapensis Cockerell, 1917 

        Euglossa chlorina Dressler, 1982 

        Euglossa cognata Moure, 1970 

        Euglossa cordata (Linnaeus, 1758) 

        Euglossa cybelia Moure, 1968 

        Euglossa deceptrix Moure, 1968 

        Euglossa despecta Moure, 1968 

        Euglossa dissimula Dressler, 1978
       Euglossa dressleri Moure, 1968 

        Euglossa gaianii Dressler, 1982 

        Euglossa gibbosa Dressler, 1982 

        Euglossa hansoni Moure, 1965 

        Euglossa hemichlora Cockerell, 1917 

        Euglossa heterosticta Moure, 1968
       Euglossa ioprosopa Dressler, 1982 

        Euglossa iopyrrha Dressler, 1982 

        Euglossa maculilabris Moure, 1968
        Euglossa magnipes Dressler, 1982 

        Euglossa milenae Bembe ́, 2007 

        Euglossa mixta Friese, 1899 

        Euglossa modestior Dressler, 1982 

        Euglossa mourei Dressler, 1982 

        Euglossa nigropilosa Moure, 1965 

        Euglossa platymera Dressler, 1982
        Euglossa pleosticta Dressler, 1982 

        Euglossa retroviridis Dressler, 1982
        Euglossa securigera Dressler, 1982 

        Euglossa tridentata Moure, 1970 

        Euglossa variabilis Friese, 1899 

Subgenus Euglossella Moure, 1967 

        Euglossa apiformis Schrottky, 1911 

        Euglossa bigibba Dressler, 1982
        Euglossa cyanura Cockerell, 1917 

        Euglossa granti Cheesman, 1929 

        Euglossa perfulgens Moure, 1967
        Euglossa singularis Mocsa ́ry, 1899 

        Euglossa viridis (Perty, 1833) 

        Euglossa allosticta Moure, 1969 

        Euglossa asarophora Moure & Sakagami, 1969 

        Euglossa flammea Moure, 1969 

        Euglossa ignita Smith, 187 

        Euglossa imperialis Cockerell, 1922 

        Euglossa lugubris Roubik, 2004 

        Euglossa natesi Parra, Ospina-Torres & Ram ́ırez, 2006 

        Euglossa occidentalis Roubik, 2004 

        Euglossa orellana Roubik, 2004 

        Euglossa rufipes Rasmussen & Skov, 2006
       Euglossa tiputini Roubik, 2004 

       Euglossa viridifrons Dressler, 1982 

Subgenus Glossurella Dressler, 1982 

        Euglossa augaspis Dressler, 1982 

        Euglossa moratoi Neme ́sio & Engel 2012
       Euglossa dodsoni Moure, 1965 

        Euglossa fuscifrons Dressler, 1982 

        Euglossa gorgonensis Cheesman, 1929 

        Euglossa laevicincta Dressler, 1982
       Euglossa macrorhyncha Dressler, 1982 

        Euglossa prasina Dressler, 1982 

        Euglossa samperi Ram ́ırez, 2006 
       Euglossa turbinifex Dressler, 1978 

        Euglossa williamsi Hinojosa-D ́ıaz & Engel, 2011 

Subgenus Glossuropoda Moure, 1989 

        Euglossa intersecta Latreille, 1817 

        Euglossa rugilabris Moure, 1967 

Genus Eulaema Lepeletier (1841) 

Subgenus Apaulaema Moure, 1950 [71] 

        Eulaema boliviensis Friese, 1898 

        Eulaema cingulata (Fabricius, 1804); synonym pseudocingulata Oliveira 2000) 

        Eulaema marcii Neme ́sio, A. (2009); synonym cingulata? 

        Eulaema mocsaryi (Friese, 1899) 

        Eulaema napensis Oliveira, 2006 

        Eulaema nigrifacies Friese, 1898

        Eulaema nigrita Lepeletier, 1841

        Eulaema peruviana (Friese, 1903) 

        Eulaema polychroma (Mocsa ́ry, 1899) 

        Eulaema speciosa (Mocsa ́ry, 1897) 

Subgenus Eulaema Lepeletier, 1841 

        Eulaema bombiformis (Packard, 1869) 

        Eulaema bomboides (Friese, 1923 

        Eulaema chocoana Ospina-Torres & Sandino- Franco, 1997 

        Eulaema leucopyga Friese, 1898 

        Eulaema meriana (Olivier, 1789) 

        Eulaema parapolyzona Oliveira, 2006 

        Eulaema tenuifasciata (Friese, 1925) 

        Eulaema sororia Dressler & Ospina-Torres, 1997 

Genus Exaerete Hoffmannsegg (1817) 

        Exaerete dentata (Linnaeus, 1758) 

        Exaerete frontalis (Gue ́rin, 1844) 

        Exaerete lepeletieri Oliveira & Neme ́sio, 2003 

        Exaerete smaragdina (Gue ́rin, 1844) 

        Exaerete trochanterica (Friese, 1900)
 

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