''Aglae'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

euglossine The tribe (biology), tribe Euglossini, in the subfamily Apinae, commonly known as orchid bees or euglossine bees, are the only group of Pollen basket, corbiculate bees whose non-parasitic members do not all possess Eusociality, eusocial behavior. ...

bee Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyly, monophyletic lineage within the ...

s, with the only described species ''Aglae caerulea''. Like all

orchid bee The tribe Euglossini, in the subfamily Apinae, commonly known as orchid bees or euglossine bees, are the only group of corbiculate bees whose non-parasitic members do not all possess eusocial behavior. Description Most of the tribe's species ...

s, it is restricted to the

Neotropics The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropics, tropical Ecoregion#Terrestrial, terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperat ...

. They are metallic blue. This species, like the genus ''

Exaerete ''Exaerete'' is a genus of euglossine bees found from Mexico to northern Argentina. Like all orchid bees, they are restricted to the Neotropics. All but one species is metallic green, and they are cleptoparasites in the nests of other euglossine ...

'', is a nest parasite on free-living Euglossini. ''A. caerulea'' lays its eggs in the nests of ''

Eulaema nigrita ''Eulaema'' is a genus of large-bodied euglossine bees that occur primarily in the Neotropics. They are robust brown or black bees, hairy or velvety, and often striped with yellow or orange, typically resembling bumblebees. They lack metallic co ...

'', and possibly other ''

Eulaema ''Eulaema'' is a genus of large-bodied euglossine bees that occur primarily in the Neotropics. They are robust brown or black bees, hairy or velvety, and often striped with yellow or orange, typically resembling bumblebees. They lack metallic co ...

'' species. Among other substances, males of this species are attracted by

methyl cinnamate Methyl cinnamate is the methyl ester of cinnamic acid and is a white or transparent solid with a strong, aromatic odor. It is found naturally in a variety of plants, including in fruits, like strawberry, and some culinary spices, such as Sichuan p ...

baits.

Name

The

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

, ''Αγλαιη'' means "beauty". The original 1825 publication describing the species spelled the epithet as "''cœrulea''" (for "blue"), which nearly all subsequent authors misspelled as ''caerulea'' rather than ''coerulea'', but under Article 33.3.1 of the

ICZN The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) is a widely accepted convention in zoology that rules the formal scientific naming of organisms treated as animals. It is also informally known as the ICZN Code, for its publisher, the I ...

, the ''caerulea'' spelling must be maintained.ICZN Code
"33.3.1. when an incorrect subsequent spelling is in prevailing usage and is attributed to the publication of the original spelling, the subsequent spelling and attribution are to be preserved and the spelling is deemed to be a correct original spelling."

Distribution

''A. caerulea'' was thought to occur only in the

Amazon basin The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about , or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries of Bolivi ...

, in the rainforests of northern

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

, western

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic ...

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...

, and

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

. However, the record from Panama is doubtful. Recent studies have extended the range by about 2,400 km southwards, when specimens were found in the National Park

Chapada dos Guimarães Chapada dos Guimarães is a municipality located in central Brazil, 62 km from the city of Cuiabá, the capital of Mato Grosso State. It is home to the Chapada dos Guimarães National Park. Outside this town is the geographic center of South A ...

Mato Grosso Mato Grosso ( – lit. "Thick Bush") is one of the states of Brazil, the third largest by area, located in the Central-West region. The state has 1.66% of the Brazilian population and is responsible for 1.9% of the Brazilian GDP. Neighboring ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. (2006): Occurrence of ''Aglae caerulea'' Lepeletier & Serville (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Euglossini) in the Parque Nacional da Chapada dos Guimarães, Mato Grosso State, Brazil. ''Neotrop. Entomol.'' 35(6)

References

* (1983): Orchid floral fragrances and male euglossine bees: methods and advances in the last sesquidecade. ''Biol. Bull.'' 164: 355–395. *

Notes

External links

* David Roubik (Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute)
Diagnostic photographs of ''Aglae caerulea''
Euglossini Monotypic bee genera Hymenoptera of South America Insects of Brazil Fauna of the Amazon Orchid pollinators {{Apinae-stub

Name

Distribution

References

Notes

Further reading

External links