Floral sources used by the orchid bee Euglossa cordata (Linnaeus, 1758) (Apidae: Euglossini) in an urban area of south-eastern Brazil

AbstractAlthough orchid bees (Apidae: Euglossini) are known as key pollinators in tropical ecosystems, knowledge of their floral sources is still scarce, especially for those species commonly found in urban environments. We aimed to identify the pollen, nectar and resin sources used by the widespread species Euglossa cordata in an urban area in south-eastern Brazil. The residual pollen from 81 brood cells of nine nests reactivated between October 2013 and December 2014 was acetolysed and analysed. A total of 50 pollen types belonging to 20 botanical families were identified in the samples. Pollen sources included species from seven families; five of them were plants with poricidal anthers (Bixaceae, Commelinaceae, Fabaceae, Melastomataceae and Solanaceae). The mass-flowering trees Handroanthus chrysotrichus and H. heptaphyllus (Bignoniaceae) are firstly reported as important pollen sources to an orchid bee species. Nectar was collected primarily from plants with long, tubular corolla as Acanthaceae, Apocy...