Dasypodainae

The subfamily Dasypodainae (originally named "Dasypodidae") is a small subfamily of melittid bees, with more than 100 species in eight genera,[1] found in Africa and the northern temperate zone, primarily in xeric habitats.

Dasypodainae
Dasypoda altercator
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Melittidae
Subfamily: Dasypodainae
Genera

(see text)

They are typically small to moderate-sized bees, with shaggy scopae, and are commonly oligolectic (e.g., Hesperapis regularis). All members of this family have two submarginal cells in the forewing.

Taxonomy

Initial molecular work suggested that the family Melittidae was paraphyletic, and that its subfamilies (including Dasypodainae) should therefore be elevated to family status.[2][3] However, these studies included very few melittids, due to their rarity. A 2013 investigation included a greater number of melittid bees and concluded that the family was probably monophyletic, thus supporting Dasypodainae as a subfamily of Melittidae.[4]

The largest genus, Hesperapis, contains some 40 known species, plus several more undescribed ones, with an unusual disjunct distribution in North America and southern Africa.

The subfamily Dasypodainae groups these tribes and genera:[1][4]

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References
  1. Michez D. (2008) Monographic revision of the melittid bees (Hymenoptera, Apoidea, Melittidae sensu lato). Proc. Neth. Entomol. Soc. Meet. 19: 31-39.
  2. Danforth, B.N.; Sipes, S.; Fang, J.; Brady, S.G. (2006). "The history of early bee diversification based on five genes plus morphology". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 103 (41): 15118–15123. doi:10.1073/pnas.0604033103. PMC 1586180. PMID 17015826.
  3. Danforth, Bryan (2007). "Bees-a primer" (PDF). Current Biology. 17 (5): 156–161. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2007.01.025. PMID 17339010.
  4. Hedtke, Shannon H. (2013). "The bee tree of life: a supermatrix approach to apoid phylogeny and biogeography". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 13 (138): 138. doi:10.1186/1471-2148-13-138. PMC 3706286. PMID 23822725.
  • C. D. Michener (2000) The Bees of the World, Johns Hopkins University Press.


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