|
Andrenidae
The Andrenidae (commonly known as mining bees) are a large, nearly cosmopolitan family of solitary, ground-nesting bees. Most of the family's diversity is located in temperate or arid areas (warm temperate xeric). It includes some enormous genera (e.g., ''Andrena'' with over 1300 species, and '' Perdita'' with over 700). One of the subfamilies, Oxaeinae, is so different in appearance that they were typically accorded family status, but careful phylogenetic analysis reveals them to be an offshoot within the Andrenidae, very close to the Andreninae. C. D. Michener (2007) ''The Bees of the World'', 2nd Edition, Johns Hopkins University Press. Description The Andrenidae are typically small to moderate-sized bees, which often have scopae on the basal segments of the leg in addition to the tibia, and are commonly oligolectic (especially within the subfamily Panurginae). They can be separated from other bee families by the presence of two subantennal sutures on the face, a primitive ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Andrenidae
The Andrenidae (commonly known as mining bees) are a large, nearly cosmopolitan family of solitary, ground-nesting bees. Most of the family's diversity is located in temperate or arid areas (warm temperate xeric). It includes some enormous genera (e.g., ''Andrena'' with over 1300 species, and '' Perdita'' with over 700). One of the subfamilies, Oxaeinae, is so different in appearance that they were typically accorded family status, but careful phylogenetic analysis reveals them to be an offshoot within the Andrenidae, very close to the Andreninae. C. D. Michener (2007) ''The Bees of the World'', 2nd Edition, Johns Hopkins University Press. Description The Andrenidae are typically small to moderate-sized bees, which often have scopae on the basal segments of the leg in addition to the tibia, and are commonly oligolectic (especially within the subfamily Panurginae). They can be separated from other bee families by the presence of two subantennal sutures on the face, a primitive ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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'' is organized into 104 subgenera. It is nearly worldwide in distribution, with the notable exceptions of Oceania and South America. Bees in this genus are commonly known as mining bees due to their ground-nesting lifestyle. Morphology ''Andrena'' are generally medium-sized bees; body length ranges between 8 and 17 mm with males being smaller and more slender than females. Most are black with white to tan hair, and their wings have either two or three submarginal cells. They carry pollen mainly on femoral scopal hairs, but many ''Andrena'' have an additional propodeal corbicula for carrying some pollen on their thorax. C. D. Michener (2007) ''The Bees of the World'', 2nd Edition, Johns Hopkins University Press. They can be distin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Panurginae
The bee subfamily Panurginae is a diverse lineage of 33 genera in 7 tribes. They are particularly diverse in the New World, though scarce in the tropics, and in the Old World they can be found primarily in the Palaearctic and Africa, but absent from Australia and tropical Asia. They tend to be associated with xeric or sandy habitats. The "facial foveae" of Panurgines are not broad, velvety depressions as in Andreninae, but reduced to grooves or pits at the upper margin of the eyes. The apex of the marginal cell of the wing is truncate, and the trochanteral scopa is reduced. Panurgines also frequently have yellow markings in locations other than on the face, a feature not seen in any other subfamilies of Andrenidae. Most members of this subfamily are oligolectic, with highly specialized floral associations, especially in desert species. Systematics * Tribe Protandrenini ** ''Anthemurgus'' ** '' Anthrenoides'' ** '' Chaeturginus'' ** '' Liphanthus'' ** '' Neffapis'' ** '' Parapsa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oxaeinae
The Oxaeinae are an exclusively American subfamily of the bee family Andrenidae, consisting of large (13–26 mm), fast-flying bees, often with large eyes. The four constituent genera, with a total of 19 described species, range from the United States to Argentina. Some resources still use the name Oxaeidae, and treat them as a family, but they were moved to subfamily status in 1995. They can be best recognized by the extremely low position of the ocelli A simple eye (sometimes called a pigment pit) refers to a form of eye or an optical arrangement composed of a single lens and without an elaborate retina such as occurs in most vertebrates. In this sense "simple eye" is distinct from a multi-l ... on their faces, a feature not shared by any other large bees. Their nests are deep burrows in the ground, and provisions are a soupy mixture of pollen and nectar in cells with a waxlike waterproof lining. References * C. D. Michener (2007) ''The Bees of the World'', 2nd Edi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Perdita (genus)
''Perdita'' is a large genus of small bees native to North America, particularly diverse in the desert regions of the United States and Mexico. There are over 600 currently recognized species of ''Perdita'', plus more than 100 additional subspecies and many more species that remain undescribed. ''Perdita'' are usually quite small (2.0 mm to 10.0 mm) and often brightly colored with metallic reflections and/or yellow or white markings, and among the few lineages of bees incapable of stinging. The genus was extensively treated by P.H. Timberlake who, in addition to T.D.A. Cockerell, described most of the known species. Most species are extreme specialists (oligoleges) with respect to pollen and will only collect pollen from a few closely related species or genera of plants. Many species in this genus are called fairy bees. They may be parasitized by ''Neolarra'' cuckoo bees, which lay eggs in their nests given the opportunity. See also * List of Perdita species Thi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alocandreninae
The bee subfamily Alocandreninae contains only one genus and one species, ''Alocandrena porteri'', which is found in Peru. It seems to be restricted to the western side of the Andes Mountains. It has been recorded throughout the year, suggesting multiple generations per year. Females collect pollen from ''Lycopersicon ''Lycopersicon'' was a genus in the flowering plant family Solanaceae (the nightshades and relatives). It contained about 13 species in the tomato group of nightshades. First removed from the genus ''Solanum'' by Philip Miller in 1754, its remov ...'' species. References Andrenidae Monotypic bee genera {{Andrenidae-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Halictidae
Halictidae is the second-largest family of bees (clade Anthophila) with nearly 4,500 species. Halictid species are an extremely diverse group that can vary greatly in appearance. These bees occur all over the world and are found on every continent except Antarctica. Usually dark-colored (frequently brown or black) and often metallic, halictids are found in various sizes, colors and patterns. Several species are all or partly green and a few are red, purple, or blue. A number of them have yellow markings, especially the males, which commonly have yellow faces, a pattern widespread among the various families of bees. The family is one of many with short tongues and is best distinguished by the arcuate (strongly curved) basal vein found on the wing. Females in this family tend to be larger than the males. They are commonly referred to as "sweat bees" (especially the smaller species), as they are often attracted to perspiration. Ecology Most halictids nest in the ground, often in ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 multiple genera within a single plant family, or be as narrow as a single plant species. When the choice is very narrow, the term ''monolecty'' is sometimes used, originally meaning a single plant species but recently broadened to include examples where the host plants are related members of a single genus. The opposite term is '' polylectic'' and refers to species that collect pollen from a wide range of species. The most familiar example of a polylectic species is the domestic honey bee. Oligolectic pollinators are often called oligoleges or simply specialist pollinators, and this behavior is especially common in the bee families Andrenidae and Halictidae, though there are thousands of species in hundreds of genera, in essentially all known ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Colletidae
The Colletidae are a 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 secretions dry into a cellophane-like lining. C. D. Michener (2007) ''The Bees of the World'', 2nd Edition, pg. 133, Johns Hopkins University Press. The five subfamilies, 54 genera, and over 2000 species are all (with the known exception of but one species, '' Amphylaeus morosus'') evidently solitary, though many nest in aggregations. Two of the subfamilies, Euryglossinae and Hylaeinae, lack the external pollen-carrying apparatus (the scopa) that otherwise characterizes most bees, and instead carry the pollen in their crops. These groups, and most genera in this family, have liquid or semiliquid pollen masses on which the larvae develop. They can be found all over the world, but the most species live in South America and Australia. Over 50% of all bee spe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cosmopolitan Distribution
In biogeography, cosmopolitan distribution is the term for the range of a taxon that extends across all or most of the world in appropriate habitats. Such a taxon, usually a species, is said to exhibit cosmopolitanism or cosmopolitism. The extreme opposite of a cosmopolitan species is an endemic one, being found only in a single geographical location. Qualification The caveat “in appropriate habitat” is used to qualify the term "cosmopolitan distribution", excluding in most instances polar regions, extreme altitudes, oceans, deserts, or small, isolated islands. For example, the housefly is highly cosmopolitan, yet is neither oceanic nor polar in its distribution. Related terms and concepts The term pandemism also is in use, but not all authors are consistent in the sense in which they use the term; some speak of pandemism mainly in referring to diseases and pandemics, and some as a term intermediate between endemism and cosmopolitanism, in effect regarding pandemism as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oligocene
The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but the exact dates of the start and end of the epoch are slightly uncertain. The name Oligocene was coined in 1854 by the German paleontologist Heinrich Ernst Beyrich from his studies of marine beds in Belgium and Germany. The name comes from the Ancient Greek (''olígos'', "few") and (''kainós'', "new"), and refers to the sparsity of extant forms of molluscs. The Oligocene is preceded by the Eocene Epoch and is followed by the Miocene Epoch. The Oligocene is the third and final epoch of the Paleogene Period. The Oligocene is often considered an important time of transition, a link between the archaic world of the tropical Eocene and the more modern ecosystems of the Miocene. Major changes during the Oligocene included a global expansion o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 for honey production), carpenter bees, orchid bees, cuckoo bees, and a number of other less widely known groups. 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. 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, Euglossini and Bombinae: Bombini, Meliponini) which have been reclassified as tribes of the subfamily Apinae, along with all of the former tribes and subfamilies of Anthophoridae and the former f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
.jpg "Click for more on -> Colletidae")
