Flower use by late nineteenth-century orchid bees (Eufriesea surinamensis, Hymenoptera, Apidae) nesting in the Catedral Basílica Santa María la Antigua de Panamá

By

Wcislo, William T.
Moreno, Enrique
Lobo, Sofia
Tribaldos, Wendy
Roubik, David W. (David Ward), 1951-
Wcislo, William T.

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2019

Original Publication

Journal of Hymenoptera research

Volume

74

Pages

65--81

Subjects

Euglossini , floral utilization , historical reconstruction , nesting sites , Pollination

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Washington, D.C International Society of Hymenopterists

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/jhr.74.39191

 

Abstract

A recent restoration of the Basilica Cathedral in Casco Viejo, Panamá, revealed that prior to 1871–1876 female orchid bees (Eufriesea surinamensis) built large nesting aggregations high above the main altar, based on physical evidence dating to a nineteenth-century restoration. Bees constructed cells in approximately 120 clusters in six different aggregations on the reredos (“altarpiece”). Palynological analyses of cell contents showed that bees visited 48 species of plants, representing 43 genera and 23 families. Contents of bee cells reflect elements of floristic diversity surrounding Panama City that are seen in historical contemporaneous photographs of the nesting site and environs.