Honey bees are the principal commercial pollinators. Along with other
arthropods, they are increa... more Honey bees are the principal commercial pollinators. Along with other arthropods, they are increasingly under threat from anthropogenic factors such as the incursion of invasive honey bee subspecies, pathogens and parasites. Better tools are needed to identify bee subspecies. Genomic data for economic and ecologically important organisms is increasing, but in its basic form its practical application to address ecological problems is limited. We introduce HBeeID a means to identify honey bees. The tool utilizes a knowledge‑based network and diagnostic SNPs identiied by discriminant analysis of principle components and hierarchical agglomerative clustering. Tests of HBeeID showed that it identiies African, Americas‑Africanized, Asian, and European honey bees with a high degree of certainty even when samples lack the full 272 SNPs of HBeeID. Its prediction capacity decreases with highly admixed samples. HBeeID is a high‑resolution genomic, SNP based tool, that can be used to identify honey bees and screen species that are invasive. Its flexible design allows for future improvements via sample data additions from other localities.
MEFLG Bulletin- Boletin del Museo Entomologico Francisco Luis Gallego, 2024
Geometric morphometry is an analytical method used to identify insect species, with proven utilit... more Geometric morphometry is an analytical method used to identify insect species, with proven utility in cases where morphological variability is scarce or cryptic. This approach was used in this work for the morphological discrimination of bees of the genus Eufriesea (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Variability was evaluated at three levels: between species, males and females of the same species, and between morphologically very similar species. The coordinates of 23 landmarks were studied using tpsDIG v2.31 software, located at the intersection of the veins in the right anterior wing of 197 specimens taxonomically determined in 16 species. The specimens used belong to 4 entomological museums in the country (Museo Entomológico Francisco Luis Gallego, Medellín, Colección Entomológica de la Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín Museo de Historia Natural, Florencia, Colección Entomológica Universidad del Quindío, Armenia). Using a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and a Canonical Variables Analysis (CVA) carried out with MorphoJ v1.07a software, significant differences were found at all levels when a minimum number of 5 specimens per species was used. The differentiation between the very similar species and the consistency in the levels of variation suggests geometric morphology as a useful tool in studies of this genus of bees that is important in the pollination of orchids and ecosystem conservation.
A geometric morphometrics (GMM) approach was applied to explore if pronotum shape can be used for... more A geometric morphometrics (GMM) approach was applied to explore if pronotum shape can be used for genus-level identification in adult Phlaeothripinae. To do that, a multitude of digital images and illustrations of different genera of phytophagous phlaeothripine thrips were examined to compare their pronotum shape for genera that contain more than 20 species, which are known to feed on plants, as well as those that have been intercepted at U.S. ports of entry coming from other countries. Statistically significant differences in the pronotum shape were found between most of the examined genera, making GMM a viable tool for genus-level identification of adults of most species-rich, phytophagous genera of Phlaeothripinae.
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
The northern giant hornet Vespa mandarinia (NGH) is a voracious predator of other insect species,... more The northern giant hornet Vespa mandarinia (NGH) is a voracious predator of other insect species, including honey bees. NGH’s native range spans subtropical and temperate regions across much of east and southeast Asia and, in 2019, exotic populations of the species were discovered in North America. Despite this broad range and invasive potential, investigation of the population genomic structure of NGH across its native and introduced ranges has thus far been limited to a small number of mitochondrial samples. Here, we present analyses of genomic data from NGH individuals collected across the species’ native range and from exotic individuals collected in North America. We provide the first survey of whole-genome population variation for any hornet species, covering this species’ native and invasive ranges, and in doing so confirm likely origins in Japan and South Korea for the two introductions. We additionally show that, while this introduced population exhibited strongly elevated levels of inbreeding, these signatures of inbreeding are also present in some long-standing native populations, which may indicate that inbreeding depression alone is insufficient to prevent the persistence of NGH populations. As well as highlighting the importance of ongoing monitoring and eradication efforts to limit the spread of this species outside of its natural range, our data will serve as a foundational database for future genomic studies into introduced hornet populations.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research), Dec 31, 2010
A review of the species of the bee genus Neocorynura occurring in Argentina and Paraguay is provi... more A review of the species of the bee genus Neocorynura occurring in Argentina and Paraguay is provided. Four new species are described: Neocorynura tangophyla, Neocorynura gaucha, Neocorynura guarani, and Neocorynura sophia. The name Neocorynura pseudobaccha (Cockerell) is resurrected, it had previously been synonymized under Neocorynura jucunda (Smith). In total, eight species are known to occur in these two countries. Even though six additional species of Neocorynura have been considered to also be distributed in Argentina and Paraguay, their dubious occurrence in these countries may be due to imprecise information in the primary references or to collection data (specimen’s deposition). No specimens of such species were available in any of the collections consulted for this taxonomic study. Comments on the systematics and biogeography (including new distribution records), as well as species identification keys, are presented.
Studies on Neotropical Fauna and Environment, Jul 23, 2009
The joannisi and seeleyi groups of Neocorynura are rarely collected bees found at high altitudes ... more The joannisi and seeleyi groups of Neocorynura are rarely collected bees found at high altitudes (≥2000 m) in the Andes from Venezuela to Peru. We review the species of the joannisi group and provide new geographical records and taxonomic comments for the species of the ...
Revista de la Academia Colombiana de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, 2021
In this paper, we present an update of the information concerning the genus Eufriesea for Colombi... more In this paper, we present an update of the information concerning the genus Eufriesea for Colombia. We describe the female Eufriesea dressleri (Kimsey, 1977), the only female of the elegans group not yet described. A taxonomic key is proposed for its identification and the range of distribution of Ef. dressleri, Eufriesea concava, Eufriesea magretti, and Eufriesea pulchra is extended for Colombia including new altitudinal records.
This dataset contains site-level summaries of more than 1.6 million samples from 78 countries rep... more This dataset contains site-level summaries of more than 1.6 million samples from 78 countries representing over 28,000 species, collated from existing spatial comparisons of local-scale biodiversity exposed to different intensities and types of anthropogenic pressures, from terrestrial sites around the world. The underlying database is being assembled as part of the [PREDICTS project](http://www.predicts.org.uk) - Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems. A complete description of the data is given in [http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.1303](http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.1303).
Abstract. Introduced hornets increase natural enemies and stress factors detrimental to honey bee... more Abstract. Introduced hornets increase natural enemies and stress factors detrimental to honey bees, Apis mellifera L. Hornets are slightly bigger than honey bee drones, the largest member of A. mellifera colonies, offering a possibility of excluding hornets from entering hives because of their larger size. Using screen with an appropriate size of holes allowed free flow of honey bees and may impede the passage of larger predators, including hornets. Metal screens with 0.74 cm holes were installed in eight honey bee hives, using eight colonies without screens for comparison. Colonies with screens produced significantly more honey than did colonies without screens, and no differences were found in the accumulation of pollen or presence of brood between colonies with or without screens. Results indicated the screens were not detrimental to reproduction and honey production by the colonies, but had a beneficial side effect on colony fitness, probably my reducing robbing. Vespa crabro from preserved museum specimens were as small as 0.64 cm at its widest dimension, V. velutina 0.70 cm, while V. mandarinia might not pass through a screen hole smaller than 1.1 cm. Honey bee drones had a maximum metathorax width of 0.6 cm, suggesting that mesh with a hole size slightly larger than 0.60 cm might be appropriate to exclude these hornet species without decreasing productive and reproductive parameters of honey bee colonies. Resumen. Los avispones introducidos aumentan la lista de enemigos naturales y factores de estrés que afectan negativamente a las colonias de abejas Apis mellifera L. Los avispones son un poco más grandes que los zánganos, los miembros más voluminosos en las colonias de A. mellifera, lo que ofrece la posibilidad de prevenir la entrada de avispones a las colonias debido a su mayor tamaño, por lo que la utilización de una malla de hoyos del tamaño apropiado puede permitir el flujo de abejas e impedir el paso de depredadores más grandes. Se instalaron mallas con hoyos de 0.74 cm en ocho colmenas, usando otras ocho colonias sin malla como comparación. Las colonias a las que se les instaló la malla produjeron significativamente más miel que las colmenas sin malla. No se encontraron diferencias significativas en la acumulación de polen, o la cantidad de cría entre las colonias con o sin malla. Estos resultados indican que las mallas no tienen efecto negativo en la reproducción de las colonias ni en la producción de miel, y pueden proveer un efecto positivo en el fitness de las colonias al reducir el robo de miel entre ellas. Usando especímenes de museos reportamos que V. crabro puede ser tan pequeño como 0.64 cm en su dimensión más grande, V. velutina 0.70 cm, mientras que V. mandarinia tal vez no pueda pasar a través de un agujero de 1.1 cm. Los zánganos tienen una dimensión máxima en el metathorax de 0.6 cm, lo que sugiere que una malla con hoyos un poco mayores a 0.6 cm puede funcionar para excluir a estos avispones sin disminuir los parámetros productivos y reproductivos de las colonias de abejas melíferas.
AimUnderstanding the impact of land use change within assemblages is fundamental to mitigation po... more AimUnderstanding the impact of land use change within assemblages is fundamental to mitigation policies at local and regional scale. Here, we aim to quantify how site‐level terrestrial assemblages are responding to land use change in Colombia a mega‐diverse country and to project future biodiversity under different scenarios of land use change associated with climate change policies.LocationColombia (northern South America).MethodsWe collated original biodiversity data from 17 publications (285 sites) that examined how human impact affects terrestrial biodiversity in Colombia. From each site we estimated compositional intactness (i.e. compositional similarity to undisturbed sites). We fitted generalized linear mixed‐effects models to estimate how these measures of local biodiversity vary across land use habitats. Using space‐for‐time substitution, we applied our estimates to hindcast biodiversity changes since 1500 and project future changes under climate change policies of the four...
Species occurrence data are foundational for research, conservation, and science communication, b... more Species occurrence data are foundational for research, conservation, and science communication, but the limited availability and accessibility of reliable data represents a major obstacle, particularly for insects, which face mounting pressures. We present BeeBDC, a new R package, and a global bee occurrence dataset to address this issue. We combined >18.3 million bee occurrence records from multiple public repositories (GBIF, SCAN, iDigBio, USGS, ALA) and smaller datasets, then standardised, flagged, deduplicated, and cleaned the data using the reproducible BeeBDC R-workflow. Specifically, we harmonised species names (following established global taxonomy), country names, and collection dates and, we added record-level flags for a series of potential quality issues. These data are provided in two formats, "cleaned" and "flagged-but-uncleaned". The BeeBDC package with online documentation provides end users the ability to modify filtering parameters to address their research questions. By publishing reproducible R workflows and globally cleaned datasets, we can increase the accessibility and reliability of downstream analyses. This workflow can be implemented for other taxa to support research and conservation.
Honey bees are the principal commercial pollinators. Along with other
arthropods, they are increa... more Honey bees are the principal commercial pollinators. Along with other arthropods, they are increasingly under threat from anthropogenic factors such as the incursion of invasive honey bee subspecies, pathogens and parasites. Better tools are needed to identify bee subspecies. Genomic data for economic and ecologically important organisms is increasing, but in its basic form its practical application to address ecological problems is limited. We introduce HBeeID a means to identify honey bees. The tool utilizes a knowledge‑based network and diagnostic SNPs identiied by discriminant analysis of principle components and hierarchical agglomerative clustering. Tests of HBeeID showed that it identiies African, Americas‑Africanized, Asian, and European honey bees with a high degree of certainty even when samples lack the full 272 SNPs of HBeeID. Its prediction capacity decreases with highly admixed samples. HBeeID is a high‑resolution genomic, SNP based tool, that can be used to identify honey bees and screen species that are invasive. Its flexible design allows for future improvements via sample data additions from other localities.
MEFLG Bulletin- Boletin del Museo Entomologico Francisco Luis Gallego, 2024
Geometric morphometry is an analytical method used to identify insect species, with proven utilit... more Geometric morphometry is an analytical method used to identify insect species, with proven utility in cases where morphological variability is scarce or cryptic. This approach was used in this work for the morphological discrimination of bees of the genus Eufriesea (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Variability was evaluated at three levels: between species, males and females of the same species, and between morphologically very similar species. The coordinates of 23 landmarks were studied using tpsDIG v2.31 software, located at the intersection of the veins in the right anterior wing of 197 specimens taxonomically determined in 16 species. The specimens used belong to 4 entomological museums in the country (Museo Entomológico Francisco Luis Gallego, Medellín, Colección Entomológica de la Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín Museo de Historia Natural, Florencia, Colección Entomológica Universidad del Quindío, Armenia). Using a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and a Canonical Variables Analysis (CVA) carried out with MorphoJ v1.07a software, significant differences were found at all levels when a minimum number of 5 specimens per species was used. The differentiation between the very similar species and the consistency in the levels of variation suggests geometric morphology as a useful tool in studies of this genus of bees that is important in the pollination of orchids and ecosystem conservation.
A geometric morphometrics (GMM) approach was applied to explore if pronotum shape can be used for... more A geometric morphometrics (GMM) approach was applied to explore if pronotum shape can be used for genus-level identification in adult Phlaeothripinae. To do that, a multitude of digital images and illustrations of different genera of phytophagous phlaeothripine thrips were examined to compare their pronotum shape for genera that contain more than 20 species, which are known to feed on plants, as well as those that have been intercepted at U.S. ports of entry coming from other countries. Statistically significant differences in the pronotum shape were found between most of the examined genera, making GMM a viable tool for genus-level identification of adults of most species-rich, phytophagous genera of Phlaeothripinae.
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
The northern giant hornet Vespa mandarinia (NGH) is a voracious predator of other insect species,... more The northern giant hornet Vespa mandarinia (NGH) is a voracious predator of other insect species, including honey bees. NGH’s native range spans subtropical and temperate regions across much of east and southeast Asia and, in 2019, exotic populations of the species were discovered in North America. Despite this broad range and invasive potential, investigation of the population genomic structure of NGH across its native and introduced ranges has thus far been limited to a small number of mitochondrial samples. Here, we present analyses of genomic data from NGH individuals collected across the species’ native range and from exotic individuals collected in North America. We provide the first survey of whole-genome population variation for any hornet species, covering this species’ native and invasive ranges, and in doing so confirm likely origins in Japan and South Korea for the two introductions. We additionally show that, while this introduced population exhibited strongly elevated levels of inbreeding, these signatures of inbreeding are also present in some long-standing native populations, which may indicate that inbreeding depression alone is insufficient to prevent the persistence of NGH populations. As well as highlighting the importance of ongoing monitoring and eradication efforts to limit the spread of this species outside of its natural range, our data will serve as a foundational database for future genomic studies into introduced hornet populations.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research), Dec 31, 2010
A review of the species of the bee genus Neocorynura occurring in Argentina and Paraguay is provi... more A review of the species of the bee genus Neocorynura occurring in Argentina and Paraguay is provided. Four new species are described: Neocorynura tangophyla, Neocorynura gaucha, Neocorynura guarani, and Neocorynura sophia. The name Neocorynura pseudobaccha (Cockerell) is resurrected, it had previously been synonymized under Neocorynura jucunda (Smith). In total, eight species are known to occur in these two countries. Even though six additional species of Neocorynura have been considered to also be distributed in Argentina and Paraguay, their dubious occurrence in these countries may be due to imprecise information in the primary references or to collection data (specimen’s deposition). No specimens of such species were available in any of the collections consulted for this taxonomic study. Comments on the systematics and biogeography (including new distribution records), as well as species identification keys, are presented.
Studies on Neotropical Fauna and Environment, Jul 23, 2009
The joannisi and seeleyi groups of Neocorynura are rarely collected bees found at high altitudes ... more The joannisi and seeleyi groups of Neocorynura are rarely collected bees found at high altitudes (≥2000 m) in the Andes from Venezuela to Peru. We review the species of the joannisi group and provide new geographical records and taxonomic comments for the species of the ...
Revista de la Academia Colombiana de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, 2021
In this paper, we present an update of the information concerning the genus Eufriesea for Colombi... more In this paper, we present an update of the information concerning the genus Eufriesea for Colombia. We describe the female Eufriesea dressleri (Kimsey, 1977), the only female of the elegans group not yet described. A taxonomic key is proposed for its identification and the range of distribution of Ef. dressleri, Eufriesea concava, Eufriesea magretti, and Eufriesea pulchra is extended for Colombia including new altitudinal records.
This dataset contains site-level summaries of more than 1.6 million samples from 78 countries rep... more This dataset contains site-level summaries of more than 1.6 million samples from 78 countries representing over 28,000 species, collated from existing spatial comparisons of local-scale biodiversity exposed to different intensities and types of anthropogenic pressures, from terrestrial sites around the world. The underlying database is being assembled as part of the [PREDICTS project](http://www.predicts.org.uk) - Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems. A complete description of the data is given in [http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.1303](http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.1303).
Abstract. Introduced hornets increase natural enemies and stress factors detrimental to honey bee... more Abstract. Introduced hornets increase natural enemies and stress factors detrimental to honey bees, Apis mellifera L. Hornets are slightly bigger than honey bee drones, the largest member of A. mellifera colonies, offering a possibility of excluding hornets from entering hives because of their larger size. Using screen with an appropriate size of holes allowed free flow of honey bees and may impede the passage of larger predators, including hornets. Metal screens with 0.74 cm holes were installed in eight honey bee hives, using eight colonies without screens for comparison. Colonies with screens produced significantly more honey than did colonies without screens, and no differences were found in the accumulation of pollen or presence of brood between colonies with or without screens. Results indicated the screens were not detrimental to reproduction and honey production by the colonies, but had a beneficial side effect on colony fitness, probably my reducing robbing. Vespa crabro from preserved museum specimens were as small as 0.64 cm at its widest dimension, V. velutina 0.70 cm, while V. mandarinia might not pass through a screen hole smaller than 1.1 cm. Honey bee drones had a maximum metathorax width of 0.6 cm, suggesting that mesh with a hole size slightly larger than 0.60 cm might be appropriate to exclude these hornet species without decreasing productive and reproductive parameters of honey bee colonies. Resumen. Los avispones introducidos aumentan la lista de enemigos naturales y factores de estrés que afectan negativamente a las colonias de abejas Apis mellifera L. Los avispones son un poco más grandes que los zánganos, los miembros más voluminosos en las colonias de A. mellifera, lo que ofrece la posibilidad de prevenir la entrada de avispones a las colonias debido a su mayor tamaño, por lo que la utilización de una malla de hoyos del tamaño apropiado puede permitir el flujo de abejas e impedir el paso de depredadores más grandes. Se instalaron mallas con hoyos de 0.74 cm en ocho colmenas, usando otras ocho colonias sin malla como comparación. Las colonias a las que se les instaló la malla produjeron significativamente más miel que las colmenas sin malla. No se encontraron diferencias significativas en la acumulación de polen, o la cantidad de cría entre las colonias con o sin malla. Estos resultados indican que las mallas no tienen efecto negativo en la reproducción de las colonias ni en la producción de miel, y pueden proveer un efecto positivo en el fitness de las colonias al reducir el robo de miel entre ellas. Usando especímenes de museos reportamos que V. crabro puede ser tan pequeño como 0.64 cm en su dimensión más grande, V. velutina 0.70 cm, mientras que V. mandarinia tal vez no pueda pasar a través de un agujero de 1.1 cm. Los zánganos tienen una dimensión máxima en el metathorax de 0.6 cm, lo que sugiere que una malla con hoyos un poco mayores a 0.6 cm puede funcionar para excluir a estos avispones sin disminuir los parámetros productivos y reproductivos de las colonias de abejas melíferas.
AimUnderstanding the impact of land use change within assemblages is fundamental to mitigation po... more AimUnderstanding the impact of land use change within assemblages is fundamental to mitigation policies at local and regional scale. Here, we aim to quantify how site‐level terrestrial assemblages are responding to land use change in Colombia a mega‐diverse country and to project future biodiversity under different scenarios of land use change associated with climate change policies.LocationColombia (northern South America).MethodsWe collated original biodiversity data from 17 publications (285 sites) that examined how human impact affects terrestrial biodiversity in Colombia. From each site we estimated compositional intactness (i.e. compositional similarity to undisturbed sites). We fitted generalized linear mixed‐effects models to estimate how these measures of local biodiversity vary across land use habitats. Using space‐for‐time substitution, we applied our estimates to hindcast biodiversity changes since 1500 and project future changes under climate change policies of the four...
Species occurrence data are foundational for research, conservation, and science communication, b... more Species occurrence data are foundational for research, conservation, and science communication, but the limited availability and accessibility of reliable data represents a major obstacle, particularly for insects, which face mounting pressures. We present BeeBDC, a new R package, and a global bee occurrence dataset to address this issue. We combined >18.3 million bee occurrence records from multiple public repositories (GBIF, SCAN, iDigBio, USGS, ALA) and smaller datasets, then standardised, flagged, deduplicated, and cleaned the data using the reproducible BeeBDC R-workflow. Specifically, we harmonised species names (following established global taxonomy), country names, and collection dates and, we added record-level flags for a series of potential quality issues. These data are provided in two formats, "cleaned" and "flagged-but-uncleaned". The BeeBDC package with online documentation provides end users the ability to modify filtering parameters to address their research questions. By publishing reproducible R workflows and globally cleaned datasets, we can increase the accessibility and reliability of downstream analyses. This workflow can be implemented for other taxa to support research and conservation.
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Papers by Allan Smith-Pardo
arthropods, they are increasingly under threat from anthropogenic factors such as the incursion of invasive honey bee subspecies, pathogens and parasites. Better tools are needed to identify bee subspecies. Genomic data for economic and ecologically important organisms is increasing, but in its basic form its practical application to address ecological problems is limited.
We introduce HBeeID a means to identify honey bees. The tool utilizes
a knowledge‑based network and diagnostic SNPs identiied by discriminant analysis of principle components and hierarchical agglomerative clustering. Tests of HBeeID showed that it identiies African, Americas‑Africanized, Asian, and European honey bees with a high degree of certainty even when samples lack the full 272 SNPs of HBeeID. Its prediction capacity decreases with highly admixed samples.
HBeeID is a high‑resolution genomic, SNP based tool, that can be used
to identify honey bees and screen species that are invasive. Its flexible design allows for future improvements via sample data additions from other localities.
The coordinates of 23 landmarks were studied using tpsDIG v2.31 software, located at the intersection of the veins in the right anterior wing of 197 specimens taxonomically determined in 16 species. The specimens used belong to 4 entomological museums in the country (Museo Entomológico Francisco Luis Gallego, Medellín, Colección Entomológica de la Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín Museo de Historia Natural, Florencia, Colección Entomológica Universidad del Quindío, Armenia). Using a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and a Canonical Variables Analysis (CVA) carried out with MorphoJ v1.07a software, significant differences were found at all levels when a minimum number of 5 specimens per species was used. The differentiation between the very similar species and the consistency in the levels of variation suggests geometric morphology as a useful tool in studies of this genus of bees
that is important in the pollination of orchids and ecosystem conservation.
arthropods, they are increasingly under threat from anthropogenic factors such as the incursion of invasive honey bee subspecies, pathogens and parasites. Better tools are needed to identify bee subspecies. Genomic data for economic and ecologically important organisms is increasing, but in its basic form its practical application to address ecological problems is limited.
We introduce HBeeID a means to identify honey bees. The tool utilizes
a knowledge‑based network and diagnostic SNPs identiied by discriminant analysis of principle components and hierarchical agglomerative clustering. Tests of HBeeID showed that it identiies African, Americas‑Africanized, Asian, and European honey bees with a high degree of certainty even when samples lack the full 272 SNPs of HBeeID. Its prediction capacity decreases with highly admixed samples.
HBeeID is a high‑resolution genomic, SNP based tool, that can be used
to identify honey bees and screen species that are invasive. Its flexible design allows for future improvements via sample data additions from other localities.
The coordinates of 23 landmarks were studied using tpsDIG v2.31 software, located at the intersection of the veins in the right anterior wing of 197 specimens taxonomically determined in 16 species. The specimens used belong to 4 entomological museums in the country (Museo Entomológico Francisco Luis Gallego, Medellín, Colección Entomológica de la Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín Museo de Historia Natural, Florencia, Colección Entomológica Universidad del Quindío, Armenia). Using a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and a Canonical Variables Analysis (CVA) carried out with MorphoJ v1.07a software, significant differences were found at all levels when a minimum number of 5 specimens per species was used. The differentiation between the very similar species and the consistency in the levels of variation suggests geometric morphology as a useful tool in studies of this genus of bees
that is important in the pollination of orchids and ecosystem conservation.