Community of native bees (Apidae) in a tropical rain forest mountain area in Santa Catarina

This study evaluated the bee community and their associated melliferous plants in the northern region of the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil in order to ascertain the diversity and floral interactions of the local Apidae. Twelve samplings were conducted (April 2006 to March 2007) in transects, where nets were used to capture bees directly from their flowers. Voucher specimens for both bees and plants were deposited at UNIVILLE. Diversity and equitability indexes were calculated. Our sampling effort resulted in a total of 934 bees in 72 genera and five families. Forty-four plant species belonging to 19 families were visited. A dominant family in Southern Brazil, Asteraceae, was visited most often (50% of the taxa). Nearly 20% of the plants were visited by only one bee species. Meliponina, Ceratinina and Halictinae were prevalent. The diversity of the apifauna composition (Apinae followed by Halictinae) is typical for southern environments, with few abundant species and many singletons. The variation found for the equitability indexes revealed low intertaxa dominance, diversity oscillation and interspecies relative equilibrium. Values of richness and abundance indicate a transitional distribution pattern (subtropical to temperate). Rare taxa, the presence of new records for the state, and the collector's slope indicate an estimated greater richness