Xylocopinae

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Xylocopinae
Temporal range: 45–Present  Ma
Carpenter Bee. Xylocopa sp. - Flickr - gailhampshire.jpg
Xylocopa sp.
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Apidae
Subfamily: Xylocopinae
Latreille, 1802
Tribes

Allodapini - allodapine bees
Boreallodapini
Ceratinini - small carpenter bees
Manueliini
Xylocopini - carpenter bees

Contents

Ceratina sp. Ceratina WG.jpg
Ceratina sp.

The subfamily Xylocopinae (family Apidae) occurs worldwide, and includes the large carpenter bees (tribe Xylocopini), the small carpenter bees (tribe Ceratinini), the allodapine bees (tribe Allodapini), and the relictual genus Manuelia (tribe Manueliini). [1]

Subdivisions

The Tribes of Xylocopinae are:

Description

Some Xylocopinae have a cavity between the thorax and abdomen, called acarinarium, which provides accommodation for a colony of predatory mites, cleaning their hosts of external parasites. [3]

The vast majority of the Xylocopinae species make nests in dead wood, stems, or pith, and while many are solitary, many are also communal or primitively social. Some genera of Allodapines commonly form eusocial colonies.

See also

References

  1. C. D. Michener (2007) The Bees of the World, 2nd edition, Johns Hopkins University Press.
  2. 1 2 Engel, M. S. (2012). On the classification of the bee genus Manuelia (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Acta Entomologica Slovenica, 20(1) 65-72.
  3. "The Arthropods of Southern Africa" - Holm & Dippenaar-Schoeman (Lapa 2010)