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
The Anthophorini are a large tribe in the subfamily Apinae of the family Apidae. Species in this tribe are often referred to as digger bees, although this common name is sometimes also applied to members of the tribe Centridini. It contains over ...
) and occasionally visit flowers e.g. in
prairie
Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...
landscapes of the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
.
[Stephen, W.P.; Bohart, G.E. & Torchio, P.F. (1969): ''The Biology and External Morphology of Bees, With a Synopsis of the Genera of Northwestern America''. Oregon State University Press, Corvallis, Oregon]
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As in other cuckoo bee
The term cuckoo bee is used for a variety of different bee lineages which have evolved the kleptoparasitic behaviour of laying their eggs in the nests of other bees, reminiscent of the behavior of cuckoo birds. The name is perhaps best applied to ...
s, females can be easily distinguished from those of their hosts by the lack of scopae and other pollen-collecting adaptations, as well as lacking prepygidial fimbria and basitibial plates. Their body hair is rather short and on the abdomen
The abdomen (colloquially called the belly, tummy, midriff, tucky or stomach) is the part of the body between the thorax (chest) and pelvis, in humans and in other vertebrates. The abdomen is the front part of the abdominal segment of the to ...
lies flat against the exoskeleton
An exoskeleton (from Greek ''éxō'' "outer" and ''skeletós'' "skeleton") is an external skeleton that supports and protects an animal's body, in contrast to an internal skeleton (endoskeleton) in for example, a human. In usage, some of the ...
. They may, therefore, be difficult at first glance to distinguish from the Nomadinae
Nomadinae is a subfamily of bees in the family Apidae. They are known commonly as cuckoo bees.
This subfamily is entirely kleptoparasitic. They occur worldwide, and use many different types of bees as hosts. As parasites, they lack a pollen-car ...
, but the details of their wing venation are characteristic: the marginal cell is shorter than the first two submarginal cells, and the second abscissa of vein M+Cu is extremely short, with the cells it connects being almost adjacent to each other. The jugal lobes are very small, less than half as long as the vannal lobes.
Genera
These bee genera belong to the Melectini:[Yanega, Doug (2007)]
Bee Genera of the World
Version of 2007-SEP-31. Retrieved 2008-MAY-06.
* '' Afromelecta'' Lieftinck 1972
* '' Brachymelecta'' Linsley 1939
* '' Melecta'' Latreille 1802 (= ''Bombomelecta'', ''Symmorpha'')
* '' Sinomelecta'' Baker 1997
* '' Tetralonioidella'' Strand 1914 (= ''Callomelecta'', ''Protomelissa'')
* '' Thyreomelecta'' Rightmyer & Engel 2003
* '' Thyreus'' Panzer 1806 (= ''Crocissa'', ''Crocisa'')
* '' Zacosmia'' Ashmead 1898 (= ''Micromelecta'')
Some of these (''Afromelecta, Melecta'') have subgenera which some authors may consider independent genera.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1942008
Apinae
Bee tribes