Apidae is the largest family within the superfamily

Apoidea The superfamily Apoidea is a major group within the Hymenoptera, which includes two traditionally recognized lineages, the " sphecoid" wasps, and the bees. Molecular phylogeny demonstrates that the bees arose from within the traditional "Crabron ...

, containing at least 5700 species of

bee Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfami ...

s. The family includes some of the most commonly seen bees, including

bumblebee A bumblebee (or bumble bee, bumble-bee, or humble-bee) is any of over 250 species in the genus ''Bombus'', part of Apidae, one of the bee families. This genus is the only extant group in the tribe Bombini, though a few extinct related gener ...

s and

honey bee A honey bee (also spelled honeybee) is a eusocial flying insect within the genus ''Apis'' of the bee clade, all native to Afro-Eurasia. After bees spread naturally throughout Africa and Eurasia, humans became responsible for the current cosmop ...

s, but also includes

stingless bee Stingless bees, sometimes called stingless honey bees or simply meliponines, are a large group of bees (about 550 described species), comprising the tribe Meliponini (or subtribe Meliponina according to other authors). They belong in the family ...

s (also used for honey production),

carpenter bee 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 m ...

orchid bees The tribe Euglossini, in the subfamily Apinae, commonly known as orchid bees or euglossine bees, are the only group of corbiculate bees whose non-parasitic members do not all possess eusocial behavior. Description Most of the tribe's species ...

cuckoo bees The term cuckoo bee is used for a variety of different bee lineages which have evolved the kleptoparasitic behaviour of laying their eggs in the nests of other bees, reminiscent of the behavior of cuckoo birds. The name is perhaps best applied to ...

, and a number of other less widely known groups.BugGuide.Net: the Family Apidae (of bees)
. accessed 6.23.2013 Many are valuable pollinators in natural habitats and for agricultural

crop A crop is a plant that can be grown and harvested extensively for profit or subsistence. When the plants of the same kind are cultivated at one place on a large scale, it is called a crop. Most crops are cultivated in agriculture or hydroponi ...

s. ichener, Charles D. (2007) ''The bees of the world''. The Johns Hopkins University Press. Baltimore, Londres./ref>

Taxonomy

In addition to its historical classification (honey bees, bumble bees, stingless bees and orchid bees), the family Apidae presently includes all the genera formerly placed in the families Anthophoridae and

Ctenoplectridae The bee tribe Ctenoplectrini of the subfamily Apinae, with the two genera ''Ctenoplectra'' and ''Ctenoplectrina'', comprises 9 species in tropical Africa, 10 in Asia, and 1 in Australia. Description The Ctenoplectrini are characterised by short ...

. Although the most visible members of Apidae are social, the vast majority of apid bees are solitary, including a number of cleptoparasitic species. The old family Apidae contained four tribes (Apinae:

Apini A honey bee (also spelled honeybee) is a eusocial flying insect within the genus ''Apis'' of the bee clade, all native to Afro-Eurasia. After bees spread naturally throughout Africa and Eurasia, humans became responsible for the current cosm ...

Euglossini The tribe Euglossini, in the subfamily Apinae, commonly known as orchid bees or euglossine bees, are the only group of corbiculate bees whose non-parasitic members do not all possess eusocial behavior. Description Most of the tribe's species ...

and Bombinae:

Bombini The Bombini are a tribe of large bristly apid bees which feed on pollen or nectar. Many species are social, forming nests of up to a few hundred individuals; other species, formerly classified as ''Psithyrus'' cuckoo bees, are brood parasites of ...

Meliponini Stingless bees, sometimes called stingless honey bees or simply meliponines, are a large group of bees (about 550 described species), comprising the tribe Meliponini (or subtribe Meliponina according to other authors). They belong in the family ...

) which have been reclassified as tribes of the subfamily

Apinae The Apinae are the subfamily that includes the majority of bees in the family Apidae. It includes the familiar " corbiculate" (pollen basket) bees—bumblebees, honey bees, orchid bees, stingless bees, Africanized bees, and the extinct genus '' ...

, along with all of the former tribes and subfamilies of Anthophoridae and the former family Ctenoplectridae, which was demoted to tribe status. The trend to move groups down in taxonomic rank has been taken further by a 2005 Brazilian classification that places all existing bee families together under the name "Apidae", but it has not been widely accepted in the literature since that time.

Subfamilies

Apinae

The subfamily

contains

orchid bee The tribe Euglossini, in the subfamily Apinae, commonly known as orchid bees or euglossine bees, are the only group of corbiculate bees whose non-parasitic members do not all possess eusocial behavior. Description Most of the tribe's species ...

s, and

digger bee The Anthophorini are a large tribe in the subfamily Apinae of the family Apidae. Species in this tribe are often referred to as digger bees, although this common name is sometimes also applied to members of the tribe Centridini. It contains over ...

s, among others. The bees of most

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to conflic ...

s placed in Apinae are solitary with nests that are simple burrows in the soil. However, honey bees, stingless bees, and bumblebees are eusocial or colonial. These are sometimes believed to have each developed this trait independently, and show notable differences in such characteristics as communication between workers and methods of nest construction. Tribes include: *

Ancylaini Ancylaini is a tribe of apid bees. The name was fixed by an ICZN opinion to differentiate it from the Ancylini tribe of fresh-water mollusc Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members ...

Anthophorini The Anthophorini are a large tribe in the subfamily Apinae of the family Apidae. Species in this tribe are often referred to as digger bees, although this common name is sometimes also applied to members of the tribe Centridini. It contains over ...

Centridini The Centridini are a tribe of large apid bees, many of which possess adaptations for carrying floral oils rather than (or in addition to) pollen or nectar. The floral oils are often gathered from plants of the family Malpighiaceae, though other ...

Ctenoplectrini The bee tribe Ctenoplectrini of the subfamily Apinae, with the two genera ''Ctenoplectra'' and ''Ctenoplectrina'', comprises 9 species in tropical Africa, 10 in Asia, and 1 in Australia. Description The Ctenoplectrini are characterised by short ...

Emphorini The Emphorini are a tribe of apid bees. Genera *'' Alepidosceles'' *'' Diadasia'' *'' Diadasina'' **'' Diadasina'' (''Diadasina'') **'' Diadasina'' ('' Leptometriella'') *'' Meliphilopsis'' *'' Melitoma'' *'' Melitomella'' *'' Ptilothrix ...

—(Subtribe Ancyloscelidina; Subtribe Emphorina) *

Ericrocidini The Ericrocidini are a tribe of apid bees. Genera *'' Acanthopus'' *'' Aglaomelissa'' *'' Ctenioschelus'' *'' Epiclopus'' *'' Ericrocis'' *'' Hopliphora'' *'' Mesocheira'' *'' Mesonychium'' *'' Mesoplia'' References * C. D. Michener (2000) '' ...

Eucerini The Eucerini (often called long-horned bees) are the most diverse tribe in the family Apidae, with over 32 genera worldwide that were previously classified as members of the family Anthophoridae. All species are solitary, though many nest in lar ...

Exomalopsini The Exomalopsini are a tribe of bees in the family Apidae. They are tiny to moderate in size and usually hairy. The abdomen often has pale banding. They can be distinguished from other tribes by a line of hairs along the inner edge of the eye. Mi ...

* Isepeolini *

Melectini The Melectini are a tribe of medium- to large-sized apid bees found essentially worldwide. They are brood parasites of the related typical digger bees (Anthophorini) and occasionally visit flowers e.g. in prairie landscapes of the United States ...

Osirini The Osirini are a tribe of cleptoparasitic apid bees, all but one genus exclusively from the Neotropics, and laying their eggs in the nests of bees in the apid tribe Tapinotaspidini; the one exceptional genus is '' Epeoloides'', which has one ...

Protepeolini The Protepeolini are a tribe of apid bees. The tribe contains only one genus, ''Leiopodus''. Species * '' Leiopodus abnormis'' (Jörgensen, 1912) * '' Leiopodus lacertinus'' Smith, 1854 * '' Leiopodus nigripes'' Friese, 1908 * '' Leiopodus sing ...

Rhathymini The Rhathymini are a tribe of kleptoparasitic apid bees (" cuckoo bees"). Genera *'' Nanorhathymus'' *'' Rhathymus'' References * C. D. Michener (2000) ''The Bees of the World'', Johns Hopkins University Press. Apinae Bee tribes Taxa n ...

Tapinotaspidini The Tapinotaspidini are a tribe of apid bees. Genera *'' Arhysoceble'' *'' Caenonomada'' *'' Chalepogenus'' *'' Monoeca'' *'' Paratetrapedia'' *'' Tapinotaspis'' *'' Tapinotaspoides'' *'' Trigonopedia'' References * C. D. Michener (2000) ''The ...

Tarsaliini The Tarsaliini are a tribe of apine bees. They are between 7-13mm long.Engel, M.S. (2015): ''Notes on family-group names for bees; (Hymenoptera; Apoidea)''. Journal of Mellitology, No. 46Accessible at/ref> As of 2015, it only contains its type g ...

Tetrapediini The Tetrapediini are a tribe of apid bees. Genera *'' Coelioxoides'' *'' Tetrapedia'' References * C. D. Michener (2000) ''The Bees of the World'', Johns Hopkins University Press. Apinae Bee tribes {{Apinae-stub ...

* Teratognathini

Nomadinae

The subfamily

Nomadinae Nomadinae is a subfamily of bees in the family Apidae. They are known commonly as cuckoo bees. This subfamily is entirely kleptoparasitic. They occur worldwide, and use many different types of bees as hosts. As parasites, they lack a pollen-carr ...

, or cuckoo bees, has 31 genera in 10 tribes which are all

cleptoparasite Kleptoparasitism (etymologically, parasitism by theft) is a form of feeding in which one animal deliberately takes food from another. The strategy is evolutionarily stable when stealing is less costly than direct feeding, which can mean when foo ...

s in the nests of other bees. Tribes include: * Ammobatini * Ammobatoidini *

Biastini Biastini is a tribe of cuckoo bees in the family Apidae Apidae is the largest family within the superfamily Apoidea, containing at least 5700 species of bees. The family includes some of the most commonly seen bees, including bumblebees and ...

* Brachynomadini * Caenoprosopidini *

Epeolini Epeolini is a tribe of cuckoo bees, a tribe of the subfamily Nomadinae. Genera The tribe Epeolini is subdivided as follows: Subtribe: Odyneropsina Genus: '' Odyneropsis'' Subtribe: Rhogepeolina Genus: '' Rhogepeolus'' Subtribe: Epeolina Genu ...

—(Subtribe Epeolina; Subtribe Odyneropsina; Subtribe Thalestriina) * Hexepeolini * Neolarrini *

Nomadini With over 850 species, the genus ''Nomada'' is one of the largest genera in the family Apidae, and the largest genus of kleptoparasitic "cuckoo bees." Kleptoparasitic bees are so named because they enter the nests of a host and lay eggs there, st ...

Townsendiellini ''Townsendiella'' is a genus of cuckoo bees in the family Apidae Apidae is the largest family within the superfamily Apoidea, containing at least 5700 species of bees. The family includes some of the most commonly seen bees, including bumblebe ...

Xylocopinae

The subfamily Xylocopinae, which includes

s, are mostly solitary, though they tend to be gregarious. Some tribe lineages, such as the

Allodapini The Allodapini is a tribe of bees in the subfamily Xylocopinae, family Apidae. They occur throughout sub-Saharan Africa, South East Asia, and Australasia. There is also a rare genus, Exoneuridia, that occurs in isolated regions of Turkey, Iraq, L ...

, contain eusocial species. Most members of this subfamily make nests in plant stems or wood. Tribes include: *

Ceratinini 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 ...

Manueliini ''Manuelia'' is a genus of bees in the subfamily Xylocopinae, the only genus in the tribe Manueliini. There are three species.Engel, M. S. (2012)On the classification of the bee genus ''Manuelia'' (Hymenoptera: Apidae).''Acta Entomologica Sloven ...

Xylocopini 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 m ...

References

* * *

External links

BugGuide.Net: Family Apidae—Cuckoo, Carpenter, Digger, Bumble, and Honey Bees; and other bees
.
BugGuide.net: Native Bees of North America
{{Authority control Bee families