''Melitta'' is a genus 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 superfamil ...

s in the family

Melittidae Melittidae is a small bee family, with over 200 described species in three subfamilies. The family has a limited distribution, with all described species restricted to Africa and the northern temperate zone. Fossil melittids have been found oc ...

. It includes about 40 species restricted to

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

and the northern temperate zone. Most of the species are

Palaearctic The Palearctic or Palaearctic is the largest of the eight biogeographic realms of the Earth. It stretches across all of Eurasia north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. The realm consists of several bioregions: the Euro-Si ...

, though three rare species occur in North America. They are bees of moderate size, generally 8 to 15 mm long. They are commonly

oligolectic The term oligolecty is used in pollination ecology to refer to bees that exhibit a narrow, specialized preference for pollen sources, typically to a single family or genus of flowering plants. The preference may occasionally extend broadly to mul ...

, with narrow host plant preferences. They resemble bees of the genus ''

Andrena ''Andrena'' is a genus of bees in the family Andrenidae. With over 1,500 species, it is one of the largest genera of animals. It is a strongly monophyletic group that is difficult to split into more manageable divisions; currently, ''Andrena'' i ...

'', though with radically different mouthparts and a

scopa ''Scopa'' (; literally "broom") is an Italian card game, and one of the three major national card games in Italy, the others being '' Briscola'' and '' Tresette''. It is also popular in Argentina and Brazil, brought in by Italian immigrants, mos ...

limited to the hind tibia and basitarsus. Melitta have a crucial role as pollinators and they are protected through the Pollinators policy based on EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030.

Species

* '' Melitta aegyptiaca'' (Radoszkowski, 1891) * ''

Melitta albida Melitta () is a German company selling coffee, paper coffee filters, and coffee makers, part of the Melitta Group, which has branches in other countries. The company is headquartered in Minden, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is named after Mel ...

'' Cockerell, 1935 * ''

Melitta americana Melitta () is a German company selling coffee, paper coffee filters, and coffee makers, part of the Melitta Group, which has branches in other countries. The company is headquartered in Minden, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is named after ...

'' (Smith, 1853) * ''

Melitta arrogans Melitta () is a German company selling coffee, paper coffee filters, and coffee makers, part of the Melitta Group, which has branches in other countries. The company is headquartered in Minden, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is named after Mel ...

'' (Smith, 1879) * ''

Melitta barbarae Melitta () is a German company selling coffee, paper coffee filters, and coffee makers, part of the Melitta Group, which has branches in other countries. The company is headquartered in Minden, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is named after ...

'' Eardley, 2006 * '' Melitta bicollaris'' Warncke, 1973 * ''

Melitta budashkini Melitta () is a German company selling coffee, paper coffee filters, and coffee makers, part of the Melitta Group, which has branches in other countries. The company is headquartered in Minden, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is named after M ...

'' Radchenko & Ivanov, 2012 * ''

Melitta budensis Melitta () is a German company selling coffee, paper coffee filters, and coffee makers, part of the Melitta Group, which has branches in other countries. The company is headquartered in Minden, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is named after ...

'' (Mocsáry, 1878) * ''

Melitta californica Melitta () is a German company selling coffee, paper coffee filters, and coffee makers, part of the Melitta Group, which has branches in other countries. The company is headquartered in Minden, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is named after ...

'' Viereck, 1909 * '' Melitta cameroni'' (Cockerell, 1910) * '' Melitta changmuensis'' Wu, 1988 * '' Melitta danae'' Eardley, 2006 * '' Melitta dimidiata'' Morawitz, 1876 * ''

Melitta eickworti ''Melitta eickworti'' is a species of melittid bee in the family Melittidae. It is found in North America. References Further reading * * External links * Melittidae Articles created by Qbugbot Insects described in 1995 { ...

'' Snelling & Stage, 1995 * '' Melitta engeli'' Michez, 2012 * '' Melitta ezoana'' Yasumatsu & Hirashima, 1956 * '' Melitta fulvescenta'' Wu, 2000 * '' Melitta guichardi'' Michez, 2007 * '' Melitta haemorrhoidalis'' (Fabricius, 1775) * '' Melitta harrietae'' (Bingham, 1897) * ''

Melitta heilungkiangensis Melitta () is a German company selling coffee, paper coffee filters, and coffee makers, part of the Melitta Group, which has branches in other countries. The company is headquartered in Minden, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is named after M ...

'' Wu, 1978 * '' Melitta hispanica'' Friese 1900 * ''

Melitta iberica Melitta () is a German company selling coffee, paper coffee filters, and coffee makers, part of the Melitta Group, which has branches in other countries. The company is headquartered in Minden, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is named after Mel ...

'' Warncke, 1973 * '' Melitta japonica'' Yasumatsu & Hirashima, 1956 * '' Melitta kastiliensis'' Warncke, 1973 * ''

Melitta katherinae Melitta () is a German company selling coffee, paper coffee filters, and coffee makers, part of the Melitta Group, which has branches in other countries. The company is headquartered in Minden, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is named after ...

'' Eardley, 2006 * '' Melitta latronis'' Cockerell, 1924 * ''

Melitta leporina Melitta () is a German company selling coffee, paper coffee filters, and coffee makers, part of the Melitta Group, which has branches in other countries. The company is headquartered in Minden, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is named after Mel ...

'' (Panzer, 1799) * ''

Melitta magnifica Melitta () is a German company selling coffee, paper coffee filters, and coffee makers, part of the Melitta Group, which has branches in other countries. The company is headquartered in Minden, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is named after ...

'' Michez, 2012 * '' Melitta maura'' (Pérez, 1896) * '' Melitta melanura'' (Nylander, 1852) * '' Melitta melittoides'' (Viereck, 1909) * ''

Melitta mongolica Melitta () is a German company selling coffee, paper coffee filters, and coffee makers, part of the Melitta Group, which has branches in other countries. The company is headquartered in Minden, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is named after ...

'' Wu, 1978 * ''

Melitta montana Melitta () is a German company selling coffee, paper coffee filters, and coffee makers, part of the Melitta Group, which has branches in other countries. The company is headquartered in Minden, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is named after ...

'' Wu, 1992 * ''

Melitta murciana Melitta () is a German company selling coffee, paper coffee filters, and coffee makers, part of the Melitta Group, which has branches in other countries. The company is headquartered in Minden, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is named after ...

'' Warncke, 1973 * '' Melitta nigrabdominalis'' Wu, 1988 * '' Melitta nigricans'' Alfken, 1905 * '' Melitta piersbakeri'' Engel, 2005 * ''

Melitta rasmonti Melitta () is a German company selling coffee, paper coffee filters, and coffee makers, part of the Melitta Group, which has branches in other countries. The company is headquartered in Minden, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is named after ...

'' Michez, 2007 * '' Melitta schmiedeknechti'' Friese, 1898 * ''

Melitta schultzei Melitta () is a German company selling coffee, paper coffee filters, and coffee makers, part of the Melitta Group, which has branches in other countries. The company is headquartered in Minden, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is named after Mel ...

'' Friese, 1909 * ''

Melitta seitzi Melitta () is a German company selling coffee, paper coffee filters, and coffee makers, part of the Melitta Group, which has branches in other countries. The company is headquartered in Minden, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is named after M ...

'' Alfken 1927 * ''

Melitta sibirica Melitta () is a German company selling coffee, paper coffee filters, and coffee makers, part of the Melitta Group, which has branches in other countries. The company is headquartered in Minden, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is named after ...

'' (Morawitz, 1888) * ''

Melitta singular Melitta () is a German company selling coffee, paper coffee filters, and coffee makers, part of the Melitta Group, which has branches in other countries. The company is headquartered in Minden, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is named after Mel ...

'' Michez, 2012 * '' Melitta tomentosa'' Friese, 1900 * ''

Melitta tricincta Melitta () is a German company selling coffee, paper coffee filters, and coffee makers, part of the Melitta Group, which has branches in other countries. The company is headquartered in Minden, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is named after Mel ...

'' Kirby, 1802 * ''

Melitta udmurtica Melitta () is a German company selling coffee, paper coffee filters, and coffee makers, part of the Melitta Group, which has branches in other countries. The company is headquartered in Minden, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is named after ...

'' Sitdikov 1986 * ''

Melitta whiteheadi Melitta () is a German company selling coffee, paper coffee filters, and coffee makers, part of the Melitta Group, which has branches in other countries. The company is headquartered in Minden, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is named after ...

'' Eardley, 2006

References

C. D. Michener Charles Duncan Michener (September 22, 1918 – November 1, 2015) was an American entomologist born in Pasadena, California. He was a leading expert on bees, his ''magnum opus'' being ''The Bees of the World'' published in 2000. __TOC__ Biogra ...

(2000) ''The Bees of the World'', Johns Hopkins University Press.

External links

Melitta Identification Guide List of SpeciesWorldwide Species Map
Bee genera Melittidae Taxa named by William Kirby (entomologist) {{Bee-stub