New insight into the phylogeny of the orchid bees (Apidae: Euglossini)

Orchid bees occur across the American continent, from the southern United States to Paraguay and northern Argentina. There are 240 described species of orchid bees. The phylogeny of these bees has been studied by several researchers. In most cases, phylogenetic trees with different topologies have been introduced, because the tree topology of the orchid bees is very unstable. In this work, using 244 gene sequences consisting of three mitochondrial genes (cytochrome b, cytochrome c oxidase I, and 16S ribosomal RNA) and a single nuclear gene (RNA polymerase II), the phylogenetic relationships within the tribe Euglossini were re-evaluated. Although we cannot describe the phylogenetic tree of the tribe Euglossini with confidence yet; I found that there are probably two distinct evolutionary pathways or two distinct evolutionary lineages in this tribe. Moreover, I found that the evolutionary pathway of the genus Euglossa is probably different from other genera belonging to the tribe Euglossini. Nevertheless, definite viewpoints on this matter need more studies.