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Green Bee? - Euglossa dilemma - North Lauderdale, Broward County, Florida, USA November 24, 2006
Euglossa viridissima. Neotropical orchid bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Euglossini) have been reported only twice from the United States of America; once near Brownsville, Texas and more recently near Silverbell, Arizona. In each case, a single male Eulaema polychroma Mocsáry 1899 had strayed north of the border from breeding populations in northern Mexico.
During the summer of 2003, however, several male Euglossa viridissima Friese 1899 were trapped around Fort Lauderdale, Florida, by USDA employees in the fruit fly monitoring program and sent to the Florida State Collection of Arthropods for identification. To date, more than 50 males and several females have been reported. Neither the exact location of the introduction nor the current distribution in Florida is known. However, observations point to an accidental introduction around Butterfly World, Coconut Creek, Broward County--likely as a nest inside a wooden object (shipping pallet, bamboo furniture etc.)--followed by a southward spread to Dade County in 2004.
(description found @ http://www.bioone.org/perlserv/?request=get-document&issn=0015-4040&volume=088&issue=02&page=225)
Contributed by Nicole Tharp on 3 December, 2006 - 10:35am Last updated 4 December, 2006 - 2:28pm |