The Stenotritidae is the smallest of all formally recognised
bee families, with only 21 species in two genera, all of them restricted to
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
. Historically, they were generally considered to belong in the family
Colletidae
The Colletidae are a family (biology), family of bees, and are often referred to collectively as plasterer bees or polyester bees, due to the method of smoothing the walls of their nest cells with secretions applied with their mouthparts; these s ...
, but the stenotritids are presently considered their
sister taxon
In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree.
Definition
The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram:
Taxon A and ...
, and deserving of family status.
[ResearchGate Publication 6778915]
/ref> Of prime importance is that the stenotritids have unmodified mouthparts, whereas colletids are separated from all other bees by having bilobed glossae.
The American entomologist Ronald J. McGinley proposed their position as an independent family based on the morphology of the glossae in 1980.ovoid
An oval () is a closed curve in a plane which resembles the outline of an egg. The term is not very specific, but in some areas of mathematics (projective geometry, technical drawing, etc.), it is given a more precise definition, which may inc ...
provision masses in cells lined with a waterproof secretion. The nests of some species can reach a depth of more than three metres.[BioStorBHLResearchGate Publication 267823176]
/ref> The larvae do not spin cocoons.
Fossil brood cells of a stenotritid bee have been found in the Pleistocene
The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...
of the Eyre Peninsula, South Australia.[BioStorBHL]
/ref>
Species
The family contains two genera: ''Ctenocolletes'' and ''Stenotritus''.[GBIF Backbone Taxonomy: Stenotritidae]
(retrieved 26 April 2025)
''Ctenocolletes''
Authority: Theodore Cockerell, 1929
* '' Ctenocolletes albomarginatus'' ( Michener, 1965)
* '' Ctenocolletes centralis'' (Houston, 1983)
* '' Ctenocolletes fulvescens'' (Houston, 1983)
* '' Ctenocolletes nicholsoni'' ( Cockerell, 1929)
* '' Ctenocolletes nigricans'' (Houston, 1985)
* '' Ctenocolletes ordensis'' (Michener, 1965)
* '' Ctenocolletes rufescens'' (Houston, 1983)
* '' Ctenocolletes smaragdinus'' ( Smith, 1868)
* ''Ctenocolletes tigris
The Stenotritidae is the smallest of all formally recognised bee families, with only 21 species in two genera, all of them restricted to Australia. Historically, they were generally considered to belong in the family Colletidae, but the stenotrit ...
'' (Houston, 1983)
* '' Ctenocolletes tricolor'' (Houston, 1983)
''Stenotritus''
Authority: Frederick Smith, 1853
* '' Stenotritus elegans'' (Smith, 1853)
* '' Stenotritus elegantior'' (Cockerell, 1921)
* '' Stenotritus ferricornis'' (Cockerell, 1916)
* '' Stenotritus greavesi'' ( Rayment, 1930)
* '' Stenotritus murrayensis'' (Rayment, 1935)
* '' Stenotritus nigrescens'' (Friese
Friese is a surname.
Notable people with the name include:
* Christian-Peter Friese, (1948-1970), victim at the Berlin wall
* Donald Friese (born 1940), American billionaire businessman
* Friedemann Friese (born 1970), German board game designe ...
, 1924)
* '' Stenotritus nitidus'' (Smith, 1879)
* '' Stenotritus pubescens'' (Smith, 1868)
* '' Stenotritus rufocollaris'' (Cockerell, 1921)
* '' Stenotritus splendidus'' (Rayment, 1930)
* '' Stenotritus victoriae'' (Cockerell, 1906)
References
*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1930702
Bee families
Hymenoptera of Australia
Bees