Xylocopinae

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]

Xylocopinae
Temporal range: 45–Present Ma
Xylocopa sp.
Scientific classification
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

Ceratina sp.

Subdivisions

The Tribes of Xylocopinae are:

  • The Xylocopini comprise a single genus, Xylocopa, and occur in worldwide distribution, on all continents except Antarctica.
  • The Ceratinini comprise a single genus, Ceratina, with a worldwide distribution.
  • The Manueliini comprise a single genus, Manuelia, with only three species, which are restricted to Chile and the Lakes Region in Argentina.[2]
  • The Allodapini are restricted to sub-Saharan Africa, Madagascar, Southeast Asia, and Australasia, with a rare genus Exoneuridia also occurring in montane regions of the Middle East.
  • The Boreallodapini is extinct, and known from specimens in amber.[2]

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.

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See also
  • Bee taxa by rank

References
  1. C. D. Michener (2007) The Bees of the World, 2nd edition, Johns Hopkins University Press.
  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)


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