''Schwarziana'' is a relatively small genus of South American stingless bees. Like other stingless bees, ''Schwarziana'' are eusocial, with large colonies primarily composed of workers and one queen. Unusually for stingless bees, colonies are formed in underground chambers rather than in tree cavities. Workers are approximately 6.5mm long

Taxonomy

The type species for this genus, '' S. quadripunctata'', was first described by the French entomologist Amédéé Louis Michel le Peletier in 1836. Although originally placed in the genus '' Trigona'', more recent taxonomic evaluations have since placed it under its current genus, following the 1943 description of ''Schwarziana'' by Padre J.S. Moure.Michener, C.D. (2007). ''The Bees of the World''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. However, some still categorize ''Schwarziana'' as a subgenus under the closely related genus '' Plebeia''. Recent morphological studies support ''Schwarziana'' as a genus, while ''Plebeia'' appears to be paraphyletic.

References

Apinae Bee genera {{Apinae-stub