Bees and Other Insects Recorded on Flowering Trees in a Subtropical<i>Araucaria</i>Forest in Southern Brazil

Abstract

Flower visiting insects were monitored on angiosperm trees in an Araucaria forest in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The most abundant flower visitors were workers of the introduced honey bee, Apis mellifera, followed by stingless bees which were represented by 8 species. Together with other bees, they provide the main guild of foragers on flowering trees. The stingless bee fauna of the study area is similar to that of other regions of the Mata Atlântica, especially of former Araucaria forests, but also of montane coastal rain forests.