First records and distribution extensions of ericrocidine and epeoline bees ( Apidae , Apinae and Nomadinae ) in the Brazilian Pantanal

In the last check list of bee species for Mato Grosso do Sul state, neither Ctenioschelus goryi (Romand, 1840) nor Mesocheira bicolor (Fabricius, 1804) were recorded from this state. Hopliphora velutina (Lepeletier & Serville, 1825 and Thalestria spinosa (Fabricius, 1804), although reported from Mato Grosso do Sul, were not previoulsy known in the Pantanal. This paper reports the first records and extends the current distributions of these 4 species of Ericrocidini and Epeolini bees in the Brazilian Pantanal.


Introduction
The tribe Ericrocidini (Apidae, Apinae) are kleptoparasitic bees and Centridini (Apidae, Apinae) are reported as the main principal host group; they introduce their eggs into the closed cells of the hosts being attacked at the cell closure site or the nearby cell wall (Michener 2007).The Ericrocidini consists of 11 genera, including Ctenioschelus, Hopliphora, and Mesocheira, and occurs in the Americas, with highest diversity in the Amazon region (Silveira et al. 2002, Moure andMelo 2012).The genus Ctenioschelus Romand, 1840 has as its type species Ctenioschelus goryi (Romand, 1840), from Costa Rica, and until Thiele (2005), only C. goryi was described.Currently, there are no host records for C. goryi, but it is distributed from northern Costa Rica to northern Argentina (Thiele 2008).In Brazil, this species is mainly recorded in the Brazilian savanna biome (Silveira et al. 2002, Alves-dos-Santos 2009).Hopliphora Lepeletier, 1841 are large bees (16-23 mm long), with some species being faintly metallic (Michener 2007).Only Hopliphora velutia (Lepeletier & Serville, 1825) is known from Brazil.It is widely distributed in Brazil and in the Argentine Chaco region (Silveira et al. 2002), but little known is about its biology.Aoki et al. (2012) first reported this species in Mato Grosso do Sul, in the Amolar region.Mesocheira bicolor (Fabricius, 1804) appears to be the only species and is distributed throughout the tropical region of the Americas, from Paraguay to Mexico.This species is rarely recorded in inventories and little is known about their possible hosts (Silveira et al. 2002, Michener 2007).
The tribe Epeolini (Apidae, Nomadinae) is a diverse assemblage of parasitic bee species and is especially diverse in the New World, particularly in South America (Michener 2007, Rightmyer 2006).Epeolines parasitize a wide variety of distantly related bees in the families Col-NOTES ON GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION letidae, Andrenidae, Halictidae, and Apidae (Emphorini, Eucerini, and Anthophorini) (Rozen 2001).Thalestria spinosa (Fabricius, 1804) has been recognized as the only species in Brazil and is a parasite of the nests of Oxaea (Apidae, Andreninae).It has a wide distribution from Costa Rica to Argentina and is present over all of Brazil (Silveira et al. 2002, Moure andMelo 2012).
This paper presents a new record of Ctenioschelus goryi in Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul, a new re cord of Mesocheira bicolor in Mato Grosso do Sul, and extends the range distribution of Hopliphora velutia and Thalestria spinosa with new records in the Brazilian Pantanal.

Methods
At approximately 150,000 km 2 , the Pantanal is the world's largest floodplain and an important ecosystem for the conservation of biodiveristy (Harris et al. 2005, Zedler and Kercher 2005, Keddy 2010, Alho and Sabino 2011).However, this is an area where little is known about the bee fauna.The climate of the region is tropi-cal subhumid, with dry winters and rainy summers, and the average annual precipitation varies between 800 and 1500 mm (Zavattini 2004).
Data collection was carried out in the Brazilian Pantanal during November 2015 and March 2016.All specimens were collected through active search using an entomological net.Approximately 50 h were spent at each sample site.All specimens were preserved in 70% alcohol.This research project was carried out under collection authorization permission from MMA and ICMBio (n: 48939-3 issued in 11/05/2015).
To identify specimens to genera, the key by Silveira et al. (2002) was used.Thiele (2008) and Rightmyer (2006) were used for identifications to species.

Mesocheira bicolor
Remarks.The new record came from floodplain area with receding and temporary lagoons near the right bank of the Paraguay River and having a predominance of undergrowth and palm trees (Copernicia australis).
Mesocheira bicolor was distinguished by its scutellum with 2 flattened, backward directed processes, with broadly curved apices.The genus seems to present a single species (Silveira et al. 2002).
Results.This species was recorded in an area of small rural settlements in a region that is characterized by Brazilian Savanna forest type.
Thalestria spinosa is distinguished by the bright metallic blue and green scales on the body.The pterostigma is relatively small.The preoccipital carina is well below the ocelli on the posterior surface of the head.The 2 platelike integumental structures meet at an angle along an impressed line on the vertex behind the median ocellus.The eyes are relatively large.Mesocheira bicolor is the only described species.It is distributed throughout the tropical region of the Americas, from Mexico to Paraguay, and in Brazil, it occurs in Bahia, Minas Gerais, and São Paulo (Silveira et al. 2002).In the last inventory of bees of Mato Grosso do Sul, Lima and Silvestre (2017) did not report M. bicolor.Apparently this species has a wide distribution and may also occur in Goiás since it occurs in states, such as Bahia, to the northwest.
Thalestria spinosa is the only described species in its genus.It is a parasite of nests of Oxaea (Apidae, Andreninae) and is widely distributed from Costa Rica to Argentina.It may occur over the entire territory of Brazil (Silveira et al. 2002).This species is currently known from Dourados, southern Mato Grosso do Sul (Henrique et al 2006, Lima andSilvestre 2017) and the Aporé-Sucuriú Complex, northern Mato Grosso do Sul (Aoki and Sigrist 2006), as well as in the south-central region of this state (Polatto et al. 2014).All records are from areas of Cerrado or Cerrado-Atlantic forest transitions.This new record extends the distribution of this species to the Pantanal.
The shortage of taxonomists specializing in bees in the 2 Brazilian states in which this study was conducted certainly contributes to the lack of occurrence records for the four species reported here.The new records extend the current distribution of 4 bee species of the tribes Ericrocidini and Epeolini and contributes to our understanding of bee diversity in the Brazilian Pantanal.
Batista and National Park of Pantanal Matogrossense headquarters; owners of the farms and private areas for support and access to their lands; the Coordination of Pantanal Studies /PROPP of the Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul for access to the Pantanal Study Field Station; the Fundação de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento do Ensino, Ciência e Tecnologia do Estado de Mato Grosso do Sul for project financing (no.108/2015, SIAFEM: 024501).