Orchid Bees (tribe Euglossini, family Apidae)
Manu Biological Station, Madre de Dios, Peru
One of my favorite insect encounters at Manu was with orchid bees! The volunteer coordinator, who is also an entomologist, showed me their method for attracting and surveying them.
They pin squares of cardboard to a tree, and dab on scents (which are usually essential oils or extracts). The male bees show up and "gather the scents" which helps them to attract females (so its win-win for the bees and the entomologists).
Here we see 4 species of orchid bee:
Euglossa analis (shiny blue/purple)
Euglossa sp. (smaller shiny green)
Knob-fronted Cuckoo-Orchid Bee, Exaerete frontalis (large black-winged shiny green)
Eulaema sp. (Black front, yellow/black/red abdomen)
photographs by Paxon Kale CC
