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Carpenter bees are species in the genus Xylocopa of the subfamily Xylocopinae. The genus includes some 500 bees in 31 subgenera. The common name "carpenter bee" derives from their nesting behavior; nearly all species burrow into hard plant material such as dead wood or bamboo. The main exceptions are species in the subgenus Proxylocopa, which dig nesting tunnels in suitable soil.
The genus Halictus is a large assemblage of bee species in the family Halictidae. The genus is divided into 15 subgenera, some of dubious monophyly, containing over 200 species, primarily in the Northern Hemisphere. Most species are black or dark brown, sometimes metallic greenish-tinted, with apical whitish abdominal bands on the terga.
Melitta is a genus of bees in the family Melittidae. It includes about 40 species restricted to Africa and the northern temperate zone. Most of the species are Palaearctic, though three rare species occur in North America.
The cosmopolitan bee genus Ceratina, often referred to as small carpenter bees, is the sole lineage of the tribe Ceratinini, and is not closely related to the more familiar carpenter bees. The genus presently contains over 300 species in 23 subgenera. They make nests in dead wood, stems, or pith, and while many are solitary, a number are subsocial, with mothers caring for their larvae, and in a few cases where multiple females are found in a single nest, daughters or sisters may form very small, weakly eusocial colonies. One species is unique for having both social and asocial populations, Ceratina australensis, which exhibits all of the pre-adaptations for successful group living. This species is socially polymorphic with both solitary and social nests collected in sympatry. Social colonies in that species consist of two foundresses, one contributing both foraging and reproductive effort and the second which remains at the nest as a passive guard. Cooperative nesting provides no overt reproductive benefits over solitary nesting in this population, although brood survival tends to be greater in social colonies. Maternal longevity, subsociality and bivoltine nesting phenology in this species favour colony formation, while dispersal habits and offspring longevity may inhibit more frequent social nesting in this and other ceratinines.
Thyreus is an Old World genus of bees, one of many that are commonly known as cuckoo bees, and are kleptoparasites of other species of bees, mostly in the genus Amegilla. They all have strongly contrasting patterns of coloration – three species from the Sydney region, Thyreus nitidulus, T. lugubris, and T. caeruleopunctatus are bright blue and black.
Epeolus is a genus of cuckoo bees in the family Apidae. They are often known as variegated cuckoo-bees.
Melecta is a genus of cuckoo bees in the family Apidae. There are at least 50 described species in Melecta.
Pseudoanthidium is a genus of bees belonging to the family Megachilidae. The species of this genus are found in Eurasia, Africa and Australia.
Afranthidium is a genus of bees belonging to the family Megachilidae. The species of this genus are found in Southern Asia, Africa and Australia.
References
- ↑ "Anthophora Genus Information". BugGuide.net. Retrieved 2018-02-28.
- ↑ "Anthophora Report". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 2018-02-28.
- ↑ "Anthophora Overview". Encyclopedia of Life. Retrieved 2018-02-28.
- ↑ "Browse Anthophora". Catalogue of Life. Retrieved 2018-02-28.