Apidologie 38 (2007) 419-425
DOI: 10.1051/apido:2007023

Phylogeny of the cleptoparasitic bee genus Exaerete (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

Evandson José dos Anjos-Silva^{a, b}, Michael S. Engel^c and Sergio R. Andena<sup>a

a</sup>  Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Avenida dos Bandeirantes 3900, Monte Alegre, 14040-901 Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil
^b  Departamento de Biologia, Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso, 78200-000 Cáceres, MT, Brazil
^c  Division of Entomology, Natural History Museum, and Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, 1501 Crestline Drive-Suite #140, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66049-2811, USA

(Received 10 April 2006 - Revised 4 February 2007 - Accepted 14 February 2007 - Published online 10 July 2007)

Abstract - Relationships among the species of Exaerete Hoffmannsegg (Apinae: Euglossini) were explored based on new morphological data and including new taxa described since the study of Engel (Am. Mus. Novit. 3272, 1-14, 1999). Analysis of the data matrix was undertaken in NONA using the WinClada interface and resulted in a single topology of length 39, CI 0.66, RI 0.78. Three principal clades were identified in the genus, resulting in interrelationships among the species as: (((E. smaragdina + (E. frontalis + E. lepeletieri)) + ((E. trochanterica + E. guaykuru) + (E. azteca + E. dentata))). Biogeographic patterns are briefly discussed in light of the recovered phylogeny and Exaerete lepeletieri Oliveira & Nemésio is newly considered a synonym of E. frontalis (Guérin-Méneville).

Key words: cleptoparasitism / Euglossini / orchid bees / phylogeny / Exaerete / biogeography


© INRA, DIB-AGIB, EDP Sciences 2007