The Apinae are the
subfamily that includes the majority 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 monophyly, monophyletic lineage within the ...
s 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 honey bees, but also includes stingless bees (also used ...
. It includes the familiar "
corbiculate" (pollen basket) bees—
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 gene ...
s,
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,
orchid bees,
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,
Africanized bees, and the extinct genus ''
Euglossopteryx''.
It also includes all but two of the groups (excluding
Nomadinae and
Xylocopinae) that were previously classified in the family
Anthophoridae.
Most species in the subfamily (other than honey bees, bumblebees, and stingless bees) are solitary, though several of the
tribes
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 ...
are entirely
kleptoparasitic, such as the
Ericrocidini
The Ericrocidini are a tribe of apid bees.
Genera
*'' Acanthopus''
*'' Aglaomelissa''
*'' Ctenioschelus''
*'' Epiclopus''
*'' Ericrocis''
*'' Hopliphora''
*'' Mesocheira''
*'' Mesonychium''
*'' Mesoplia''
References
* C. D. Michener (2000) '' ...
,
Isepeolini
The Isepeolini are a tribe of apid bees.
Genera
*'' Isepeolus''
*'' Melectoides''
References
* C. D. Michener (2000) ''The Bees of the World'', Johns Hopkins University Press.
Apinae
Bee tribes
{{Apinae-stub ...
,
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 Stat ...
,
Osirini,
Protepeolini, and
Rhathymini.
Behaviors
Certain behaviors are known from members of the Apinae that are rarely seen in other bees, including the habit of males forming "sleeping aggregations" on vegetation - several males gathering on a single plant in the evening, grasping a plant with their jaws and resting there through the night (sometimes held in place only by the jaws, with the legs dangling free in space).
Also known from Apinae is the habit of gathering floral oils instead of
pollen
Pollen is a powdery substance produced by seed plants. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm cells). Pollen grains have a hard coat made of sporopollenin that protects the gametop ...
for use as a larval food; this behavior is otherwise known only from a few lineages in the family
Melittidae.
References
External links
BugGuide.Net: Subfamily Apinae—Honey, Bumble, Long-horned, Orchid, and Digger Bees— Images by tribe
{{Taxonbar, from=Q37204
Bee subfamilies