Rediscovered after forty-two years: the rare orchid bee Eufriesea brasilianorum (Hymenoptera: Apidae) of eastern Brazil

Eufriesea brasilianorum (Friese, 1899) (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Euglossina) is a poorly known bee species. Despite being described over one century ago, only five museum specimens are known. As species of Eufriesea are only active for a few months usually during summer, this study was carried out during three consecutive summers (2008/2009 to 2010/2011) in 49 sampling sites within the potential range of distribution of the species in eastern Brazil. More than 15,000 orchid bees were collected through use of chemical attractants during more than 1,000 hours of field work, but only three of these specimens, all from the same locality, were Eufriesea brasilianorum. The species seems to be extremely rare, even for a seasonal species, and its conservation status is discussed.