Euglossa (Euglossa) bembei Nemésio, 2011

Nemésio, André, 2011, Euglossa bembei sp. n. (Hymenoptera: Apidae): a new orchid bee from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest belonging to the Euglossa cybelia Moure, 1968 species group, Zootaxa 3006, pp. 43-49 : 44-45

Euglossa (Euglossa) bembei Nemésio , sp. n.

Diagnosis. This species is assigned to the subgenus Euglossa (Euglossa) Latreille, 1802 due to its small size, short extended tongue, rhomboid metatibia, small and widely separated tufts on S2 (absent in some specimens). It is also easily included within Euglossa cybelia species group due to the bluish-green coloration and complete lack of paraocular ivory markings. Euglossa bembei sp. n. is very similar to the Amazonian Euglossa ioprosopa , but both can be distinguished from each other due to the following characters: (i) shape of mesotibial anterior tuft, which distal portion is more enlarged in E. ioprosopa (Fig. 2F) than in Euglossa bembei sp. n. (Fig. 2E), (ii) presence and size of tufts on the second sternum, which are present, well defined and widely separated in E. ioprosopa (Fig. 2H), but absent in Euglossa bembei sp. n. or, when present, very small and almost inconspicuous (Fig. 2G), (iii) shape of clypeus, which length is approximately the same size of maximum width in E. ioprosopa (Fig. 2D) and longer than maximum width in Euglossa bembei sp. n. (Fig. 2C), (iv) punctation on mesosoma, which is dense and comprised of circular punctures of two different sizes in E. ioprosopa and also dense and comprised of circular punctures, but of same size in Euglossa bembei sp. n.

Description (Male, Fig. 2): Color and vestiture. Clypeus dark blue, rest of head dark blue, except the bluishgreen inferior paraocular areas (Fig. 2C); proximal portion of scutum dark blue, distal portion of scutum and scutellum green (Fig. 2A); metasoma bluish green (Fig. 2A). Wings pale brown. Pubescence very sparse, predominantly fulvous hairs on metasoma and antennal sockets, black and fulvous hairs on mesosoma, black hairs especially on scutum. Ivory paraocular markings absent; anterior surface of antennal scape black.

Head. Width 4.7 mm; interorbital distance at level of antennal sockets 2.7 mm; maximum interorbital distance 3.0 mm; scape 0.9 mm; eye length 3.0 mm.

Body. Body length ca. 11.0 mm; anterior wing ca. 8.5 mm; tongue in repose reaching hindcoxa; scutellum 2.6 mm wide and 1.3 mm long; abdominal width 4.5 mm. Punctation on mesosoma dense, with circular punctures of approximately the same size, on scutellum dense, with larger circular punctures.

Legs. Foretibia and forebasitarsus fringed with medium-sized, dense, fulvous hairs; velvet area occupying all the ventral side of mesotibia, posterior mesotibial tuft small, slightly oblong; anterior mesotibial tuft with invertedcomma shape, the proximal portion being the narrowest (Fig. 2E) (in E. ioprosopa the distal portion much more enlarged – see Fig. 2F); metatibia oblong-rhomboid, inflated, post-glandular area fringed with medium-sized hairs.

Metasoma. Punctation on discal base of T1 sparse, with large circular punctures; on distal part of T1 and T2- T4 dense, comprised of small circular punctures; on T5-T7 dense, with large circular punctures. S2 without tufts in some specimens; with very small and inconspicuous, widely separated tufts in other specimens (no tufts in S 2 in the holotype).

Etymology. The specific epithet honors the German “euglossologist” Benjamin Bembé.

Type locality. Holotype collected at Reserva Particular do Patrimônio Natural ( RPPN) Duas Barras (16°24’52”S, 40°03’14”W, ca. 900 m a.s.l.), in the municipality of Salto da Divisa, state of Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil.

Attractive baits. Specimens of this species have been collected at cineole, skatole, trans -methyl cinnamate and vanillin baits.

Female. Unknown.

Type material. HOLOTYPE— male, with the following data: “Euglossina da Hileia Baiana, RPPN Duas Barras, 18579-53337” and “ Brasil, Sta. Maria [do] Salto, MG, 04/02/2011, A. Nemésio” and “ Euglossa (Euglossa) bembei Nemésio , sp. n., HOLOTYPUS ” ( UFMG). PARATYPES— 25 males, with the following label data: “Euglossina da Hileia Baiana, RPPN Serra Bonita, 17768-50991” and “ Brasil, Camacan, BA, 24/01/2010, A. Nemésio” and “ Euglossa (Euglossa) bembei Nemésio , sp. n., PARATYPUS ” ( UFMG) and six more specimens with identical label data except for numbers: 17769-50997, 17772-51010, 17782-51056, 17787-51082, 17802-51122, 17813-51169; “Euglossina da Hileia Baiana, RPPN Duas Barras, 18559-53252” and “ Brasil, Sta. Maria [do] Salto, MG, 03/02/2011, A. Nemésio” and “ Euglossa (Euglossa) bembei Nemésio , sp. n., PARATYPUS ” ( UFMG); “idem, 18581-53342” and “idem, 04/02/2011 ” and “idem” ( UFMG); “idem, 18608-53342” and “idem, 23/01/2009 ” and “idem” ( UFMG); “idem, 18646-53456” and “idem, 24/01/2009 ” and “idem” ( UFMG); “idem, 18695-53554” and “idem, 12/02/2009 ” and “idem” ( UFMG); “idem, 18759-53716” and “idem, 15/02/2009 ” and “idem” ( UFMG); “idem, 18766-53728” and “idem” and “idem” ( UFMG); “Euglossina da Hileia Baiana, PN Monte Pascoal, 20112- 57785” and “Porto Seguro, BA, Brasil, 12/12/2008, A. Nemésio” and “ Euglossa (Euglossa) bembei Nemésio , sp. n., PARATYPUS ” ( UFMG); “idem, 20655-59142” and “idem, 19/12/2008 ” and “idem” ( UFMG); “idem, 20845- 59722” and “idem, 26/12/2008 ” and “idem” ( UFMG); “idem, 20845-59723” and “idem” and “idem” ( UFMG); “idem, 21161-60819” and “idem, 02/01/2009 ” and “idem” ( UFMG); “idem, PN Descobrimento, 21094-60529” and “Prado, BA, Brasil, 31/12/2008, A. Nemésio” and “idem” ( UFMG); “idem, Faz. Flor do Monte, 21422-61985” and “Itamaraju, BA, Brasil, 18/01/2009, A. Nemésio” and “idem” ( UFMG); “Brejo dos Cavalos, 14407-42551” and “Caruaru, PE, Brasil, 09/02/2000, C. Schlindwein” and “ Euglossa (Euglossa) bembei Nemésio , sp. n., PARA- TYPUS ” ( UFMG); “Parque Estadual do Desengano, 14450-42620” and “S[na]ta Maria Madalena, RJ, Brasil, 07/ 05/1999, G.S. Albuquerque” and “ Euglossa (Euglossa) bembei Nemésio , sp. n., PARATYPUS ” ( UFMG); “Figure 8 in Nemésio (2009), 13117-38938” and “idem, 12/01/1998, A. Tonhasca Jr.” and “ Euglossa (Euglossa) ioprosopa Dressler, 1982 , A. Nemésio det. 2009” and “ Euglossa (Euglossa) bembei Nemésio , sp. n., PARATYPUS ” ( UFMG); “Imbaú, 14474-42645” and “Silva Jardim, RJ, Brasil, 10/08/2005, A. V. Ramalho” and “ Euglossa (Euglossa) bembei Nemésio , sp. n., PARATYPUS ” ( UFMG).

Comments. Euglossa bembei sp. n. has been collected in the Atlantic Forest from the state of Pernambuco, in the north, to the state of São Paulo, in the south, always in coastal areas or close to the coast ( Nemésio 2009). Nevertheless, its abundance in orchid-bee collections is always very low. Due to its morphological similarity to the Amazonian Euglossa ioprosopa , this species has been confused with its Amazonian ally. Nemésio (2009: 130), however, had already noticed that the Atlantic Forest population could represent a distinct species: “…when more individuals become available a full comparison can be made between series of specimens from the Atlantic Forest and the Amazon Basin and a re-evaluation of the status of the Atlantic Forest population can be confidently made, perhaps recognizing this latter population as a distinct, undescribed species”. I have recently sampled around 50 sampling sites in more than 20 forest remnants in the “Hileia Baiana” (see exact localities in Nemésio 2011c) and found that Euglossa bembei sp. n. is a species much less rare in high elevations (above 800 m a.s.l.). I collected only a few specimens at sea level, seven of them at Parque Nacional do Monte Pascoal, southern Bahia, two at forest fragments in Itamaraju, and one at Parque Nacional do Descobrimento, also in southern Bahia, among more than 4,000 orchid bees collected in all these areas (unpub. data). On the other hand, seven specimens (among ca. 300 orchid bees) were collected at RPPN Serra Bonita, in Camacan, southern Bahia, at around 1,000 m a.s.l., and eight specimens (among ca. 500 orchid bees) at RPPN Duas Barras, also at around 1,000 m a.s.l. (unpub. data), supporting the hypothesis that this species may have a preference for habitats situated at higher elevations. There are several non-sampled areas which elevation exceeds 800 m a.s.l. along the known distributional range of this species and more studies at these sites are needed to confirm the present hypothesis and to better gather biological data on this species, such as visited flowers, nests, female.

Besides the recognition of the distinctiveness of Euglossa bembei sp. n., some changes were recently introduced to the known species of Euglossa (Euglossa) occurring in the Atlantic Forest: (i) the record of Euglossa amazonica Dressler, 1982b and Euglossa milenae Bembé, 2007 in northeastern Brazil ( Nemésio 2010b, 2011a) and (ii) recognition of Euglossa marianae Nemésio, 2011b as a species distinct from the Amazonian Euglossa analis Westwood, 1840 . Moreover, the record of Euglossa iopyrrha Dressler, 1982a in the Atlantic Forest, introduced by Bonilla-Gómez (1999) and followed by Nemésio (2009) is an error. In fact, Bonilla-Gómez (1999) misidentified some specimens of Euglossa mixta Friese, 1899 as E. iopyrrha . Some of these specimens are kept at UFMG, but they were originally badly preserved and their identification was not possible with confidence. Recent collections in the same area (Reserva Natural Vale, municipality of Linhares, northern state of Espírito Santo) and neighbor areas ( Nemésio 2011b) did not record this species and it must be excluded from the list of species occurring in the Atlantic Forest. After the above mentioned changes, a new identification key for the species of Euglossa (Euglossa) occurring in the Atlantic Forest is presented below.