Bees are essential for ecosystem functioning, pollinating many wild and crop plant species. Predicting which species are most vulnerable to global changes, and how their loss may impact ecosystems and human well-being, is critical. Comprehensive information on bee response and effect traits is fundamental to these assessments. However, the Raunkiærian shortfall—insufficient trait data—remains significant for bees, particularly in the Neotropics. Moreover, it remains uncertain whether conservation strategies based on functional diversity from temperate regions can be generalized to the Neotropics. To address this gap, we compiled a comprehensive and validated dataset on Brazilian bee traits, covering 24 traits related to sociality (100% of the species with some information), nesting (88%), body size (71%), and buzzing capacity (42%) on 2,066 Brazilian bee species. The trait data here presented is a crucial resource for evaluating bee species' pollination effectiveness and susceptibility to global change. Comparative analysis with regions with ample trait data—USA, Europe, and China—revealed notable differences. Brazilian bees exhibited a higher prevalence of aboveground nesting species, especially compared to Europe. The proportion of eusocial species was also greater than in Europe and the United States, and more similar to China. Differently from other regions, Brazilian eusocial bees were significantly smaller than their non-eusocial counterparts. These cross-regional comparisons highlight the importance of geographically tailored conservation strategies and underscore the need for extensive trait data to accurately predict regional vulnerabilities and ecological impacts in a rapidly changing world.

The distribution of most species occurs in delimited regions with unique characteristics called “centers of endemism”. In Eastern Amazon is located the Belém Endemism Center (BEC), one of the most intensely deforested in Brazilian Amazon. Here, we show information about orchid bee assemblages based on historical records from entomological collections. For each species, we calculated occurrence frequency and dominance, and we classified them in 3 statuses: common, intermediate or rare species. Curves of observed and estimated richness were built, based on Jackknife estimator. We found 1,257 specimens from 56 species, constituting records from 1917 to 2009, and one species is a new record for BEC. Higher number of specimens and species was concentrated in a few locations and surveys increased from the 70’s. The results suggest a high richness of orchid bees in the BEC, although this scenario is far from what is expected for the entire area. The high occurrence of rare species may be related to their low representativeness in the collections, and the proximity between the areas had favored samplings. Even so, the species list and the conservation status presented here may be useful information in studies comparing past and current orchid bee fauna, and, allied to data on bees’ responses to land use changes occurred in BEC over the years, can fit as a basis for defining priority areas for conservation.

Bee pollination is an important ecosystem service related to the maintenance of many flowering plants. We evaluated the relationship between orchid bee foraging time and the density of flowering plants and whether visitation varied according to the sex and size class of bees, using Calathea mansonis as a model species. We monitored 10 plots between December 2009 and November 2010 in a forest fragment in Senador Guiomard, Acre, Brazil. We counted the number of flowering plants and flowers per plant and the behaviour of the observed bees. Additionally, we compared the bagged and exposed inflorescences for self-compatibility analysis. We sampled 173 orchid bees from 13 species, with Eulaema cingulata as the most abundant visitor. Eulaema (large bees) were more effective pollinators than Euglossa (small bees). We also found Eulaema polyzona individuals feeding on a Marantaceae species for the first time. The time spent by the bees visiting flowers did not differ with the density of flowering plants or the number of flowers per plant. However, flowers exposed to visitors produced 35% more seeds and 15% heavier seeds than bagged flowers. Considering plant–bee interactions, orchid bees may increase gene flow and compensate for the clonal reproduction of this herb.