Small orchid bees are not safe: parasitism of two species of Euglossa (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Euglossina) by conopid flies (Diptera: Conopidae)

Here we report for the first time data on parasitism of two species of Euglossa, E. intersecta Latreille, 1838 and E. anodorhynchi Nemésio, 2006, by conopid flies of the genus Physocephala Schiner, 1861. A parasitized adult male of E. intersecta was collected in Acre, northwestern Brazil,while parasitized adult females of E. anodorhynchi were obtained from trap-nests in São Paulo, southeastern Brazil. For both host species, the parasite-host association was confirmed by rearing the flies from parasitized adult bees. E. anodorhynchi was attacked by Physocephala bipunctata (Macquart, 1843) and E. intersecta by an unidentified species of Physocephala Schiner, 1861. Although our current knowledge is still incipient, parasitism by conopid flies can be considered widespread in euglossine bees, judging from the cases reported so far, which involve different host genera and species distributed widely apart.