Euglossine Bees as Long-Distance Pollinators of Tropical Plants

Abstract

Euglossine bees may return to a nest from as far away as 23 kilometers in a tropical rain forest. These bees apparently forage long distances and visit the same plants repeatedly along a feeding route. They probably promote outcrossing among tropical plants with low population density; therefore, they may permit the existence of plant species whose densities have been forced very low by such things as competition and predators on seeds and seedlings.