Eufriesea is a genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 of euglossine

Euglossini

Euglossine bees, also called orchid bees, are the only group of corbiculate bees whose non-parasitic members do not all possess eusocial behavior. Most of the species are solitary, though a few are communal, or exhibit simple forms of eusociality...

 bee

Bee

Bees are flying insects closely related to wasps and ants, and are known for their role in pollination and for producing honey and beeswax. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamily Apoidea, presently classified by the unranked taxon name Anthophila...

s. Like all orchid bees, they are restricted to the Neotropics.

They are of metallic or brown/black color and hairy.

Distribution

Eufriesea is the most widely distributed genus of euglossines. Specimens have been found from Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

 to central Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

.

E. purpurata

At least one of its species, Eufriesea purpurata from Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

, has been shown to selectively collect large quantities of the insecticide

Insecticide

An insecticide is a pesticide used against insects. They include ovicides and larvicides used against the eggs and larvae of insects respectively. Insecticides are used in agriculture, medicine, industry and the household. The use of insecticides is believed to be one of the major factors behind...

 DDT

DDT

DDT is one of the most well-known synthetic insecticides. It is a chemical with a long, unique, and controversial history....

 without any apparent adverse effects. Individual bees were observed to collect as much as 2 mg, which is in the percent range of body weight. The males of orchid bees are known to collect aromatic fragrances from certain kinds of orchids, and it is thought that they use these in territorial display and courtship, probably as precursors of their own pheromones. Some orchid bees have also been found to collect fragrances from rotten wood.

Species

E. aeniventris (Mocsáry Alexander Mocsáry Alexander Mocsary, sometimes was a Hungarian entomologist who specialised in Hymenoptera.... , 1896) E. anisochlora (Kimsey, 1977) E. aridicola (Moure, Neves, and Viana, 2001) E. atlantica Nemésio, 2008 E. auriceps (Friese Heinrich Friese Heinrich Friese was a German biologist and entomologist specialist of bees.-External links:* *... , 1899) E. auripes (Gribodo, 1882) E. bare González & Gaiani, 1989 E. boharti (Kimsey, 1977) E. brasilianorum (Friese, 1899) E. caerulescens (Lepeletier, 1841) E. chaconi González & Gaiani, 1989 E. chalybaea (Friese, 1923) E. chrysopyga (Mocsáry, 1898) E. combinata (Mocsáry, 1897) E. concava (Friese, 1899) E. convexa (Friese, 1899) E. corusca (Kimsey, 1977) E. distinguenda (Gribodo, 1882) E. dressleri (Kimsey, 1977) E. duckei (Friese, 1923) E. eburneocincta (Kimsey, 1977) E. elegans (Lepeletier, 1841) E. excellens (Friese, 1925) E. faceta (Moure, 1999) E. fallax (Smith Andrew Smith (zoologist) Sir Andrew Smith KCB was a Scottish surgeon, explorer, ethnologist and zoologist. He is considered the father of Zoology in South Africa having described many species across a wide range of groups in his major work, Illustrations of the Zoology of South Africa.Smith was born in Hawick, Roxburghshire... , 1854) E. flaviventris (Friese, 1899) E. formosa (Mocsáry, 1908) E. fragrocara (Kimsey, 1977) E. kimimari González & Gaiani, 1989 E. laniventris (Ducke, 1902) E. limbata (Mocsáry, 1897)

E. lucida (Kimsey, 1977) E. lucifera Kimsey, 1977 E. macroglossa (Moure, 1965) E. magrettii (Friese, 1899) E. mariana (Mocsáry, 1896) E. mexicana (Mocsáry, 1897) E. mussitans (Fabricius Johan Christian Fabricius Johan Christian Fabricius was a Danish zoologist, specialising in "Insecta", which at that time included all arthropods: insects, arachnids, crustaceans and others... , 1787) E. nigrescens (Friese, 1925) E. nigrohirta (Friese, 1899) E. nordestina (Moure, 1999) E. opulenta (Mocsáry, 1908) E. ornata (Mocsáry, 1896) E. pallida (Kimsey, 1977) E. pretiosa (Friese, 1903) E. pulchra (Smith, 1854) E. purpurata (Mocsáry, 1896) E. rufocauda (Kimsey, 1977) E. rugosa (Friese, 1899) E. schmidtiana (Friese, 1925) E. simillima (Moure & Michener, 1965) E. smaragdina (Perty Maximilian Perty Josef Anton Maximilian Perty was a German naturalist and entomologist. He was a professor of natural history at the University of Bern.-Works:... , 1833) E. superba (Hoffmannsegg Johann Centurius Hoffmannsegg Johann Centurius Hoffmann Graf von Hoffmannsegg was a German botanist, entomologist and ornithologist.Hoffmannsegg was born at Rammenau and studied at Leipzig and Göttingen. He travelled through Europe acquiring vast collections of plants and animals. He visited Hungary, Austria and Italy in... , 1817) E. surinamensis (Linnaeus Carolus Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus , also known after his ennoblement as , was a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature. He is known as the father of modern taxonomy, and is also considered one of the fathers of modern ecology... , 1758) E. theresiae (Mocsáry, 1908) E. tucumana (Schrottky, 1902) E. velutina (Moure, 1999) E. venezolana (Schrottky, 1913) E. venusta (Moure, 1965) E. vidua (Moure, 1976) E. violacea (Blanchard, 1840) E. violascens (Mocsáry, 1898)

Further reading

(1993): Nonfloral sources of chemicals that attract male euglossine bees (Apidae: Euglossini). Journal of Chemical Ecology 19(12): 1573-1561. (2004): Phylogeny and Biology of Neotropical Orchid Bees (Euglossini). Annual Review of Entomology 49: 377-404. (1989): Ecology and natural history of tropical bees. New York: Cambridge Univ. Press. (2007): Revisiting the organohalogens associated with 1979-samples of Brazilian bees (Eufriesea purpurata). Science of The Total Environment 377: 371-377.

External links

• David Roubik (Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute): Diagnostic photographs of several Eufriesea species:

E. mussitans · E. ornata · E. pulchra · E. purpurata · E. surinamensis