''Amegilla'' is a large

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

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 superfamil ...

s in the

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 confl ...

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 ...

. Several species have blue metallic bands on the abdomen, and are referred to as "blue-banded bees" and "digger bees". One of their names in english, "digger bees" is given to them because they dig up a hole in dry ground and make it their nest. The genus occurs all around the world but very few live above 45° North. Amegilla are associated with arid and subarid biomes, matorrals, steppes, sub-deserts and deserts. All of Amegilla are solitary species. They are also very fast, agid flyers, and because of this, some taxa are close to imposible to catch.

Selected species

* ''

Amegilla bombiformis ''Amegilla bombiformis'', commonly known as the teddy bear bee or golden haired mortar bee, is an Australian native bee in the family Apidae. It was originally described by F. Smith in 1854 as ''Saropoda bombiformis'' from a collection near th ...

'' (

Smith Smith may refer to: People * Metalsmith, or simply smith, a craftsman fashioning tools or works of art out of various metals * Smith (given name) * Smith (surname), a family name originating in England, Scotland and Ireland ** List of people w ...

, 1854) * ''

Amegilla calens ''Amegilla calens'' is a species of bees in the genus Amegilla ''Amegilla'' is a large genus of bees in the tribe Anthophorini. Several species have blue metallic bands on the abdomen, and are referred to as "blue-banded bees" and "digger be ...

'' ( Lepeletier, 1841) * ''

Amegilla canifrons ''Amegilla canifrons'', the Canary islands Blue-banded bee is a species of bee, belonging to the family Apidae. The species is endemic to Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a ...

'' (Smith, 1854) * ''

Amegilla confusa ''Amegilla confusa'', is a 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 ar ...

'' (Smith, 1854) * ''

Amegilla dawsoni ''Amegilla dawsoni'', sometimes called the Dawson's burrowing bee, is a species of bee that nests by the thousands in arid claypans in Western Australia. It is a long tongued bee, of the tribe Anthophorini and genus ''Amegilla,'' the second ...

'' (Rayment, 1951) * ''

Amegilla quadrifasciata ''Amegilla quadrifasciata'', the white-banded digger bee, is a species of bee belonging to the family Apidae subfamily Apinae. Distribution These bees have a wide distribution ranging from the Canary Islands in the west to Japan in the east. ...

'' ( Villers, 1789) * ''

Amegilla violacea ''Amegilla violacea'' is a 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 ...

'' ( Lepeletier, 1841) * ''

Amegilla mucorea ''Amegilla mucorea'', is a 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 ...

'' (

Klug Klug is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Johann Christoph Friedrich Klug (1775–1856), German entomologist * Bernd Klug (1914–1975), German naval officer * Al Klug (1920–1957), American football player * Aaron Klug (1926 ...

, 1845) * ''

Amegilla fallax ''Amegilla fallax'' is a 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 ...

'' (Smith, 1879) * ''

Amegilla subcoerulea ''Amegilla subcoerulea'' is a 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 ...

'' ( Lepeletier, 1841) * '' Amegilla cingulata'' (

Fabricius Fabricius ( la, smith, german: Schmied, Schmidt) is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *people from the Ancient Roman gens Fabricia: **Gaius Fabricius Luscinus, the first of the Fabricii to move to Rome * Johann Goldsmid (1587� ...

, 1775) * ''

Amegilla cingulifera ''Amegilla cingulifera'', is a 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 ...

'' (

Cockerell Cockerell is a surname, and may refer to: People * Allan Cockerell (1891–1975), New Zealand soldier and politician * Catherine Cockerell Cobb (1903–1995), British jeweler, silversmith, daughter of Douglas *Charles Robert Cockerell (1788–1863 ...

, 1910) * ''

Amegilla comberi ''Amegilla comberi'', is a 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 ...

'' (Cockerell, 1911) * ''

Amegilla niveocincta ''Amegilla niveocincta'', is a 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 ...

'' (Smith, 1854) * ''

Amegilla asserta ''Amegilla asserta'' is a 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 ...

'' (Cockerell, 1926) * ''

Amegilla puttalama ''Amegilla puttalama'', is a 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 a ...

'' (

Strand Strand may refer to: Topography *The flat area of land bordering a body of water, a: ** Beach ** Shoreline * Strand swamp, a type of swamp habitat in Florida Places Africa *Strand, Western Cape, a seaside town in South Africa *Strand Street, ...

, 1913) * ''

'' (de Villers, 1789) * ''

Amegilla subinsularis ''Amegilla subinsularis'', is a 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. Bee ...

'' (Strand) Cockerell, 1919 * ''

Amegilla zonata ''Amegilla zonata'' is a species of blue-banded bees belonging to the family Apidae, widely distributed in Southeast Asia, where it is often confused with the Australian species ''Amegilla cingulata ''Amegilla cingulata'' is a species of b ...

'' (

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, t ...

1758 Events January–March * January 1 – Swedish biologist Carl Linnaeus (Carl von Linné) publishes in Stockholm the first volume (''Animalia'') of the 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'', the starting point of modern zoological ...

)

References

* Pierre Rasmont, ''Bees of Europe'' (2019) * * ITIS
Genus ''Amegilla''
Apinae Bee genera {{Apinae-stub

Selected species

See also

References