The bee genus ''Anthophora'' is one of the largest 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 for ...

, with over 450 species worldwide in 14 different subgenera. They are most abundant and diverse in the

Holarctic The Holarctic realm is a biogeographic realm that comprises the majority of habitats found throughout the continents in the Northern Hemisphere. It corresponds to the floristic Boreal Kingdom. It includes both the Nearctic zoogeographical region ...

and

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 ...

n biogeographic regions. All species are solitary, though many nest in large aggregations. Nearly all species make nests in the soil, either in banks or in flat ground; the larvae develop in cells with waterproof linings and do not spin cocoons. Males commonly have pale white or yellow facial markings, and/or peculiarly modified leg armature and hairs. ''Anthophora'' individuals can be distinguished from the very similar 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 bees". One of their names in english, "digger bees" is given to them ...

'' by the possession of an

arolium The arthropod leg is a form of jointed appendage of arthropods, usually used for walking. Many of the terms used for arthropod leg segments (called podomeres) are of Latin origin, and may be confused with terms for bones: ''coxa'' (meaning hip, pl ...

between the tarsal claws. Species include: *'' Anthophora bimaculata'' *'' Anthophora curta'' *'' Anthophora dispar'' *'' Anthophora edwardsii'' *'' Anthophora fedorica'' *'' Anthophora flexipes'' *'' Anthophora urbana'' *'' Anthophora furcata'' *''

Anthophora plumipes The hairy-footed flower bee (''Anthophora plumipes'') is a species of bee belonging to the family Apidae. Distribution These bees are widespread in most of Europe and Asia from Britain to China and Japan, the Near East and in North Africa. In ...

'' *'' Anthophora pueblo'' *'' Anthophora retusa''

References

* C. D. Michener (2000) ''The Bees of the World'', Johns Hopkins University Press.

External links

Discover Life, Anthophora Identification Guide Discover Life, List of SpeciesDiscover Life, Worldwide Species Map
on the UF / IFAS Featured Creatures Web site Apinae Bee genera Taxa named by Pierre André Latreille {{Apinae-stub

See also

References

External links