Euglossini are typical bees of Neotropical rainforests and only a few species occur in the Caatinga. The São Francisco river, which is the only permanent river in the semi-arid NE-Brazil, is bordered by a gallery forest with evergreen leaves. This environment offers flooral rewards along the year. Surveys of euglossine bees by attracting males to scent baits showed that species of the Atlantic Rainforest like Euglossa imperialis Cockerel, E. truncata Moure and Eulaema cingulata Fabricius occur in the gallery forest of the São Francisco river under the semi-arid climate of the caatinga region. These bees are restricted to the gallery forests which function as bio-corridors, and are absent at places where the forests were cut down. This emphasizes the need to protect the threatened gallery forests to maintain biodiversity.
Geographical distribution; Northeast; Brazil
