scholarly journals Scent-robbing and fighting among male orchid bees, Eulaema (Apeulaema) nigrita Lepeletier, 1841 (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Euglossini)

2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 405-408 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fernando da Silva Carvalho Filho
Keyword(s):  
Conspecific Male ◽  
Orchid Bees ◽  
Genetic Quality ◽  
Volatile Chemicals ◽  
Eulaema Nigrita ◽  
Odoriferous Substances

Male Neotropical orchid bees (Euglossini) collect volatile chemicals from floral and non-floral sources and store then in specialized hind tibial structures. The ultimate causes of euglossine fragrance collection remain a mystery. Recent evidence suggests that odoriferous substances play a role in euglossine courtship and serve as indicator of male genetic quality. Males of Eulaema nigrita were observed robbing scents from the detached hind legs of a conspecific male E. nigrita in Belém, Brazil. The hind leg seemed to have been detached during fights between males, since one male was missing a hind leg where the observation was made. This behavior appears to be common among males of E. nigrita since more than one case was observed on the same day. The observation reported here shows that males of E. nigrita with tibiae filled with fragrances are attacked by conspecific males that attempt to steal it.

scholarly journals The orchid-bee fauna (Hymenoptera: Apidae) of ‘RPPN Feliciano Miguel Abdala’ revisited: relevant changes in community composition

2013 ◽  
Vol 73 (3) ◽  
pp. 515-520 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Nemésio ◽  
IRC. Paula
Keyword(s):  
Community Composition ◽  
Atlantic Forest ◽  
Dominant Species ◽  
Chemical Compounds ◽  
Minas Gerais ◽  
The Other ◽  
Southeastern Brazil ◽  
Orchid Bees ◽  
Orchid Bee ◽  
Eulaema Nigrita

The orchid-bee fauna of ‘Reserva Particular do Patrimônio Natural Feliciano Miguel Abdala’, a 957-ha preserve of Atlantic Forest in eastern Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil, was surveyed 12 years after the first inventory in the area. Orchid-bee males were actively collected with insect nets when attracted to seventeen chemical compounds used as scent baits. Three hundred and nineteen males belonging to nine species were collected during 40 hours in late December, 2011, when orchid bees are supposedly more active. Euglossa despecta Moure, 1968, one of the dominant species in the area 12 years ago, was not recorded in the present study. Eulaema nigrita Lepeletier, 1841, on the other hand, represented only 16% of the collected bees in 1999 and 61% in the present study. Possible causes and consequences of these changes are discussed.

scholarly journals Orchid bees (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Euglossini) are seasonal in Seasonal Semideciduous Forest fragments, southern Brazil

2019 ◽  
Vol 59 ◽  
pp. e20195907 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cleiton Margatto ◽  
Vinicius Ortega Berno ◽  
Rodrigo Barbosa Gonçalves ◽  
Luiz Roberto Ribeiro Faria Jr.
Keyword(s):  
Species Abundance ◽  
Late Summer ◽  
Circular Statistics ◽  
Forest Fragments ◽  
Southern Brazil ◽  
Semideciduous Forest ◽  
Orchid Bees ◽  
Eulaema Nigrita ◽  
One Year ◽  
Seasonal Semideciduous Forest

Seasonal fluctuations in the abundance of orchid bees have already been reported. The variations in population dynamics may be expected to occur in more predictable and pronounced manners in environments with a clear distinction between rainy and dry seasons, where climatic variables are regarded to be good predictors of populational patterns. The main goal of this paper is to investigate the seasonality of males of orchid bees in fragments of Seasonal Semideciduous Forest in southern Brazil. Data comprise bait samples from five one-year periods on four forest fragments. The seasonality of species abundance was tested with circular statistics. Results suggest two phenological patterns, one for Eufriesea violacea (Blanchard), Eulaema nigrita Lepeletier and Euglossa cordata (Linnaeus), whose abundances are concentrated in late spring and early-middle summer and another for Euglossa fimbriata Moure with a tendency to be collected in middle-late summer and early autumn. These patterns are discussed, as well the possible driven factors, (i) the species life cycle and nesting behavior, (ii) synchrony with resource, and (iii) climate. We can postulate an important impact of climate change in local euglossine assemblage due to the small populations and marked seasonality.

scholarly journals ORCHID BEES (APIDAE: EUGLOSSINI) IN A FOREST FRAGMENT IN THE ECOTONE CERRADO-AMAZONIAN FOREST, BRAZIL

2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 67-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
José Max Barbosa OLIVEIRA-JUNIOR ◽  
Sara Miranda ALMEIDA ◽  
Lucirene RODRIGUES ◽  
Ailton Jacinto SILVÉRIO JÚNIOR ◽  
Evandson José ANJOS-SILVA
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Amazon Forest ◽  
Forest Fragment ◽  
Orchid Bees ◽  
Mato Grosso ◽  
Transitional Area ◽  
Representative Species ◽  
Eulaema Nigrita ◽  
Species Richness And Abundance ◽  
Del Rio

<p>This paper presents information about the species richness and abundance of orchid bees in the transitional area between the Cerrado and the Amazon Forest in the Xingu river basin. The males were collected in a forest fragment in the municipality of Ribeirão Cascalheira, northeast Mato Grosso state, Brazil, between 1 and 5 November 2011. Benzyl benzoate, 1.8 cineole, eugenol and vanillin were used as baits, to attract the bees using insect nets and methyl salicylate was used only in the bottle traps. A total of 168 males belonged to four<em> </em>of five Euglossini genera distributed among 16 species were recorded. The greatest species richness was registered in the genus <em>Euglossa</em>, however <em>Eulaema nigrita</em>,<em> </em>was<em> </em>the most abundant Euglossine species in the community. The species richness varied between the edge and the first point within the fragment. The males were more active between 10:00 and 11:00 h, and the 1.8 cineole was the most attractive substance. The fragment studied contained representative species richness of orchid bees in a region of widespread environmental heterogeneity, which is still largely unknown as regards its pollinators and deserves attention for the compilation of new inventories.</p><p><strong>Abejas de orquídeas (Apidae: Euglossini) en un fragmento de bosque en el ecotono Cerrado-Selva Amazónica, Brasil</strong></p><p>En este trabajo se presenta información sobre la riqueza de especies y abundancia de Euglossini en la zona de transición entre el Cerrado y la selva amazónica, en la cuenca del río Xingu. Las muestras se recogieron en un fragmento de bosque en el municipio de Ribeirão Cascalheira, nordeste de Mato Grosso, Brasil, entre el 1 y 5 de noviembre de 2011. Las sustancias puras de benzoato de bencilo, 1,8 cineol, eugenol y la vainillina fueron utilizadas como cebos para atraer los machos usando red de insectos aunque el salicilato de metilo se utilizó en trampas pasivas. Un total de 168 machos pertenecientes a cuatro géneros fueron registrados, distribuidos en 16 especies. La mayor riqueza de especies se registró en el género <em>Euglossa</em>, aunque <em>Eulaema nigrita </em>fue<em> </em>la especie más abundante en la comunidad. La riqueza de especies varió entre el borde y el primer punto dentro del fragmento. Los machos de abejas de orquídeas<em> </em>eran más activos entre 10:00-11:00 h, y el 1.8 cineol fue la sustancia pura más atractiva. El fragmento estudiado contenía un alto grado de riqueza de especies de abejas de orquídeas en una región de heterogeneidad ambiental extensa, que sigue siendo en gran parte desconocido con relación a su fauna de insectos polinizadores y merece la atención para la elaboración de nuevos inventarios.</p>

scholarly journals The orchid-bee fauna (Hymenoptera: Apidae) of a forest remnant in the southern portion of the Brazilian Amazon

2014 ◽  
Vol 74 (3 suppl 1) ◽  
pp. S184-S190 ◽  
Author(s):  
JE Santos Júnior ◽  
RR Ferrari ◽  
A Nemésio
Keyword(s):  
Amazon Basin ◽  
Brazilian Amazon ◽  
Common Species ◽  
The State ◽  
Orchid Bees ◽  
Orchid Bee ◽  
Eulaema Nigrita ◽  
Forest Remnant ◽  
First Time ◽  
Porto Velho

The orchid-bee fauna of the region of Porto Velho, in the state of Rondônia, Brazil, close to the southernmost limits of the Amazon Basin, was surveyed for the first time using five different scents as baits to attract orchid-bee males. Five hundred and twenty-one males belonging to five genera and 29 species were collected with bait traps during 26 non-consecutive days from November, 2011 to January, 2012. Eulaema nigrita Lepeletier, 1841 and Eulaema meriana (Olivier, 1789) were the most common species in the region and, together, represented almost 50% of all collected bees. Although the observed richness conforms to similar inventories in the region, the diversity (H′= 2.43) found in the present study is one of the highest ever recorded for orchid bees in the Amazon Basin.

scholarly journals Orchid bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in the coastal forests of southern Brazil: diversity, efficiency of sampling methods and comparison with other Atlantic forest surveys

2011 ◽  
Vol 51 (33) ◽  
pp. 505-515 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vanessa C. Mattozo ◽  
Luiz R.R. Faria ◽  
Gabriel A.R. Melo
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Forest ◽  
Coastal Region ◽  
Southern Brazil ◽  
Coastal Forests ◽  
Orchid Bees ◽  
Forest Sites ◽  
Eulaema Nigrita ◽  
Collecting Methods ◽  
Bait Traps ◽  
Eulaema Cingulata

Surveys of orchid bees at the Brazilian Atlantic forest have been restricted to a few regions, making difficult to understand latitudinal patterns of distribution and diversity of these bees. For this reason we sampled the euglossine fauna at Atlantic forest areas at the coastal region of São Paulo (Sete Barras, Faz. Morro do Capim: SP3) and state of Paraná (Antonina, Reserva Natural do Rio Cachoeira: PR3), in southern Brazil. In PR3, we also evaluated the efficiency of collecting methods for sampling the fauna, comparing bait traps with direct collecting using entomological nets on fragrance baits. The diversity and abundance of bees was very low: we caught only 39 males of eight species in SP3 (Euglossa iopoecila, Euglossa roderici, Eulaema nigrita, Euglossa annectans, Eulaema cingulata, Euglossa pleosticta, Euglossa viridis and Exaerete smaragdina) and 254 males of six species in PR3 (Euglossa iopoecila, Euglossa annectans, Euglossa stellfeldi, Euglossa roderici, Euglossa pleosticta and Eulaema nigrita). Comparing the sampling methodologies, use of insect nets on fragrance baits (six species; 221 specimens) was more efficient than bait traps (three species; 33 specimens). When comparing the faunas of these two areas with other surveys at the Atlantic forest sites, through a DCA analysis, we found that the two surveys presented in this paper were placed relatively close to each other, but apart from the other sites analyzed, not clustering with the southernmost survey at the subtropical Atlantic forest of Rio Grande do Sul or with the remaining surveys carried out at northern lowland sites of this biome.

Genetic diversity and population structure of orchid bees from the Brazilian savanna

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Wilson Frantine-Silva ◽  
Solange Cristina Augusto ◽  
Thiago Henrique Azevedo Tosta ◽  
Andressa Simas Pacheco ◽  
Thais Kotelok-Diniz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Diversity ◽  
Population Structure ◽  
Brazilian Savanna ◽  
Orchid Bees

scholarly journals Metabolic engineering of Moorella thermoacetica for thermophilic bioconversion of gaseous substrates to a volatile chemical

AMB Express ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Junya Kato ◽  
Kaisei Takemura ◽  
Setsu Kato ◽  
Tatsuya Fujii ◽  
Keisuke Wada ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Flux ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Gas Composition ◽  
Autotrophic Growth ◽  
Acetyl Coenzyme A ◽  
Volatile Chemicals ◽  
Moorella Thermoacetica ◽  
Gas Fermentation ◽  
Dry Cell ◽  
Co Gas

AbstractGas fermentation is one of the promising bioprocesses to convert CO2 or syngas to important chemicals. Thermophilic gas fermentation of volatile chemicals has the potential for the development of consolidated bioprocesses that can simultaneously separate products during fermentation. This study reports the production of acetone from CO2 and H2, CO, or syngas by introducing the acetone production pathway using acetyl–coenzyme A (Ac-CoA) and acetate produced via the Wood–Ljungdahl pathway in Moorella thermoacetica. Reducing the carbon flux from Ac-CoA to acetate through genetic engineering successfully enhanced acetone productivity, which varied on the basis of the gas composition. The highest acetone productivity was obtained with CO–H2, while autotrophic growth collapsed with CO2–H2. By adding H2 to CO, the acetone productivity from the same amount of carbon source increased compared to CO gas only, and the maximum specific acetone production rate also increased from 0.04 to 0.09 g-acetone/g-dry cell/h. Our development of the engineered thermophilic acetogen M. thermoacetica, which grows at a temperature higher than the boiling point of acetone (58 °C), would pave the way for developing a consolidated process with simplified and cost-effective recovery via condensation following gas fermentation.

scholarly journals Fluctuating Asymmetry and Sexual Dimorphism in Human Facial Morphology: A Multi-Variate Study

Symmetry ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 304
Author(s):  
Omid Ekrami ◽  
Peter Claes ◽  
Ellen Van Assche ◽  
Mark D. Shriver ◽  
Seth M. Weinberg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fluctuating Asymmetry ◽  
Life History Traits ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Underlying Mechanism ◽  
High Density ◽  
Direct Result ◽  
Facial Morphology ◽  
Strongly Correlated ◽  
Large Dataset ◽  
Genetic Quality

(1) Background: Fluctuating asymmetry is often used as an indicator of developmental instability, and is proposed as a signal of genetic quality. The display of prominent masculine phenotypic features, which are a direct result of high androgen levels, is also believed to be a sign of genetic quality, as these hormones may act as immunosuppressants. Fluctuating asymmetry and masculinity are therefore expected to covary. However, there is lack of strong evidence in the literature regarding this hypothesis. (2) Materials and methods: In this study, we examined a large dataset of high-density 3D facial scans of 1260 adults (630 males and 630 females). We mapped a high-density 3D facial mask onto the facial scans in order to obtain a high number of quasi-landmarks on the faces. Multi-dimensional measures of fluctuating asymmetry were extracted from the landmarks using Principal Component Analysis, and masculinity/femininity scores were obtained for each face using Partial Least Squares. The possible correlation between these two qualities was then examined using Pearson’s coefficient and Canonical Correlation Analysis. (3) Results: We found no correlation between fluctuating asymmetry and masculinity in men. However, a weak but significant correlation was found between average fluctuating asymmetry and masculinity in women, in which feminine faces had higher levels of fluctuating asymmetry on average. This correlation could possibly point to genetic quality as an underlying mechanism for both asymmetry and masculinity; however, it might also be driven by other fitness or life history traits, such as fertility. (4) Conclusions: Our results question the idea that fluctuating asymmetry and masculinity should be (more strongly) correlated in men, which is in line with the recent literature. Future studies should possibly focus more on the evolutionary relevance of the observed correlation in women.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document