Edinaldo Luz das Neves

Comportamento fenológico de três espécies de Jatropha (Euphorbiaceae) da Caatinga, semi-árido do Brasil

The vegetative and reproductive phenological behavior of Jatropha mollissima (Pohl) Baill., Jatropha mutabilis (Pohl) Baill. and Jatropha ribifolia (Pohl) Baill. were characterized and compared in an area of hyperxerophilous shrub-arboreal caatinga in northeastern Brazil from July 2005 to June 2007. The correlation between the phenophases and the abiotic variables (temperature, relative air humidity, precipitation and photoperiod), the capacity for water storage and the patterns of spatial distribution of these species were also investigated. All species showed high capacities for water storage, continuous and irregular phenological behaviors with flowers, fruits, leaf fall, and leaf budding absence during the coldest and wettest months. Only flowering in J. ribifolia demonstrated significant correlation with precipitation. All species presented aggregated distribution of their populations, which was favored by the ballistic autochory. These results indicated that the high capacity of these species for storing water facilitates the occurrence of phenological events even in the absence of rainfall.

Comunidade de Euglossini (Hymenoptera, Apidae) das dunas litorâneas do Abaeté, Salvador, Bahia, Brasil

Community of Euglossini (Hymenoptera, Apidae) from the coastal sand dunes of Abaete, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. The Euglossini community structure was analyzed by attracting males with the scents eucalyptol, eugenol, vanillin, benzyl benzoate and methyl salicylate, and by netting bees on flowers. The samplings took place three times a month along one year from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The scent baits attracted 670 individuals belonging to seven species of three genus. The predominant species were Euglossa cordata (Linnaeus, 1758) (76.6%) and Eulaema nigrita Lepeletier, 1841 (21.8%). Euglossini males visited the scents along the whole year, being more abundant in May and in August. The most efficient fragrance was eucalyptol, attracting 624 individuals of five species. The males abundance fluctuated along the day, being the highest frequency observed between 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. Forty eigth Euglossini females of four species were netted visiting flowers of 14 plant species belonging to 13 families. Solanaceae and Caesalpiniaceae were the most visited. The species catched on flowers were Euglossa cordata, Eulaema nigrita, Euplusia mussitans (Fabricius, 1787) and Eulaema meriana flavescens Friese 1899. Euglossa cordata was the predominant species on flowers (64.6%), being collected during almost the whole year. Euplusia mussitans was the only species netted on flowers which males were not sampled on the scents.

Uma nova espécie de Euplusia da Bahia, Brasil (Hymenoptera, Apoidea, Euglossinae)

Euplusia aridicola sp. n., a member of the short longued group, is described as a new species. It can be easily recognized by the large white yellowish pubescence on the sides of terga second to fourth, the bright anterior half of mesoscutum covered by yellowish hairs; clypeus medially bicarinate. The holotype was colleted in Ibiraba, Barra, a semi-arid region of Bahia, Brazil, using eucalyptol, as an attractant.

Comportamento de forrageamento de Xylocopa (Neoxylocopa) cearensis Ducke (Hymenoptera: Apidae, Xylocopini) em uma população de Cuphea brachiata Koehne (Lythraceae)

An analysis of the foraging behavior of the bee Xylocopa (Neoxylocopa) cearensis Ducke among shrubs of Cuphea brachiata Koehne (Lythraceae), a key component in the Abaete coastal sand dunes, Salvador, BA, Brazil, suggests that this bee is very important for the maintenance of the plant population, performing the pollination. This dispersal, however, is spatially restricted, so the populations in the area are likely to be highly structured genetically.

Himatanthus bracteatus (A. DC.) Woodson (Apocynaceae): phenology, morphology, and floral biology of a species endemic to the Atlantic Forest

(Himatanthus bracteatus (A. DC.) Woodson (Apocynaceae): phenology, morphology, and fl oral biology of a species endemic to the Atlantic Forest). Janaúba, Himatanthus bracteatus (A. DC.) Woodson is a species native to the Atlantic Forest and restricted to the northeastern and southeastern regions of Brazil, and has potential as ornamental or in the recovery of degraded areas. Considering that the information about its reproductive mechanisms is scarce, this study aimed to describe the aspects of the phenology, morphology, and fl oral biology of H. bracteatus in an urban remnant of Atlantic Forest in Salvador (State of Bahia). Monthly, from August 2008 to August 2009, we recorded the intensity of the phenophases (fl owering, fruiting, and budding), aspects of the morphology, and fl oral development in 15 adult individuals. Flowers and fruits occurred almost throughout the month; the fl owering peak was associated with the rainy season, and the seeds dispersion occurred through the wind. Flowers are white, bisexual, cleistogamous and remain open for more than 24 hours, suggesting a more elaborate pollination process, dependent on nocturnal and diurnal specialist visitors for their reproduction.