The Moure and Costa Entomological Collection (CEM&C) houses approximately 20,000 bee specimens (Hymenoptera) preserved dry, representing the Caatinga, Atlantic Forest, Cerrado biomes, and ecotone areas. These specimens come from systematic surveys of bees on flowers and sporadic collections, with representatives of all families occurring in Brazil. The meliponines (Apidae: Meliponini) are well represented in the CEM&C, with a diversity of about 16 genera and 59 species, some of which are holotypes and paratypes of species described for the state of Bahia. It stands out as an important bee collection in Brazil, being the first in the Northeast. The collection began its activities around the 1980s at the Bahia Agricultural Research Company (EPABA), which in the 1990s, together with the Bahia Technical Assistance and Rural Extension Company (Ematerba), formed the Bahia Agricultural Development Company (EBDA). The collection was housed in the Bee Laboratory (LABE) under the responsibility of Professor Dr. Marina Siqueira de Castro (EBDA/UEFS) until EBDA was extinguished in December 2014. In 2015, its custody was transferred to the Laboratory of Bionomy, Biogeography, and Systematics of Insects (BIOSIS) at the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA), under the curatorship of Professors Dr. Favízia Freitas de Oliveira and Dr. Marina Siqueira de Castro. The specimens were largely identified by Father Jesus de Santiago Moure (1984–2000), biologist MSc. Edilene Melo de Jesus, and more recently by biologists MSc. Matheus Eduardo Trindade Santos and MSc. Ramon Lima Ramos, with the support and guidance of Prof. Dr. Favízia Freitas de Oliveira (UFBA). The collection has always received materials from systematic and sporadic collections through projects developed by EBDA, the State University of Feira de Santana (UEFS), and the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA). There is special interest in the added value of this collection as it provides information on species that can be economically used in agriculture and in conservation projects, ecosystem management, and environmental impact studies. Thus, the collection can function as a tool for training new taxonomists and solving taxonomic problems that impact the management of all biodiversity and ecosystems. Groups with fundamental ecological importance, such as bees, responsible for 80% of the pollination of agricultural crops, make knowledge about the biogeography and distribution of species crucial for better structuring rural agroecosystems and planning directed pollination. Thus, collections like CEM&C serve as a starting point for new discoveries that will have long-term impacts on the construction of regional scientific knowledge.

Online since: 13/07/2007
Last update: 21/06/2024

Conditions for using the data

Not specified

How to cite

Not specified

Contacts

Director or head of department:
Fernanda Fernandes Cavalcante
Curator:
Favizia Freitas de Oliveira
favizia.freitas@ufba.br
Curator:
Marina Siqueira de Castro
marinacastro@uefs.br
marinalabe@gmail.com
Curator:
Matheus Eduardo Trindade Santos
mthtrindade@yahoo.com.br
Curator:
Ramon Lima Ramos
ramon.lima02@hotmail.com