A recent restoration of the Basilica Cathedral in Casco Viejo, Panamá, revealed that prior to 1871-1876 female orchid bees (Eufriesea surinamensis) built large nesting aggregations high above the main altar, based on physical evidence dating to a nineteenth-century restoration. Bees constructed cells in approximately 120 clusters in six different aggregations on the reredos ("altarpiece"). Palynological analyses of cell contents showed that bees visited 48 species of plants, representing 43 genera and 23 families. Contents of bee cells reflect elements of floristic diversity surrounding Panama City that are seen in historical contemporaneous photographs of the nesting site and environs. 66Resumen Una restauración reciente de la Catedral Basílica en el Casco Viejo de la ciudad de Panamá reveló que las hembras de abejas solitarias (Eufriesea surinamensis) nidificaron en lo alto de su retablo mayor previo a 1871-1876, basada en evidencia física de una restauración del siglo XIX. Las abejas construyeron celdas en aproximadamente 120 grupos de seis agregaciones diferentes en este retablo. Un análisis de los granos de polen dentro de estos nidos demostró que las abejas visitaron 48 especies de plantas que representan 43 géneros y 23 familias. Los elementos de la diversidad florística en la ciudad de Panamá se pueden observar en fotografías históricas de esta época del sitio de anidación y sus alrededores.
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