Apidae is the largest family within the superfamily Apoidea, containing at least 5700 species of

bee Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyly, monophyletic lineage within the ...

s. 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.BugGuide.Net: the Family Apidae (of bees)
. accessed 6.23.2013 Many are valuable

pollinator A pollinator is an animal that moves pollen from the male anther of a flower to the female stigma of a flower. This helps to bring about fertilization of the ovules in the flower by the male gametes from the pollen grains. Insects are the maj ...

s in natural habitats and for agricultural crops. ichener, Charles D. (2007) ''The bees of the world''. The Johns Hopkins University Press. Baltimore, Londres./ref>

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 The bee tribe Ctenoplectrini of the subfamily Apinae, with the two genera ''Ctenoplectra'' and ''Ctenoplectrina'', comprises 9 species in tropical Africa, 10 in Asia, and 1 in Australia. Description The Ctenoplectrini are characterised by short ...

. Although the most visible members of Apidae are social, the vast majority of apid bees are solitary, including a number of

cleptoparasitic Kleptoparasitism (etymologically, parasitism by theft) is a form of feeding in which one animal deliberately takes food from another. The strategy is evolutionarily stable when stealing is less costly than direct feeding, which can mean when fo ...

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 family Ctenoplectridae, which was demoted to tribe status. The trend to move groups down in taxonomic rank has been taken further by a 2005 Brazilian classification that places all existing bee families together under the name "Apidae", but it has not been widely accepted in the literature since that time.

Subfamilies

Apinae

The subfamily Apinae contains honey bees, bumblebees, stingless bees, orchid bees, and digger bees, among others. The bees of most tribes placed in Apinae are solitary with nests that are simple burrows in the soil. However, honey bees, stingless bees, and bumblebees are eusocial or colonial. These are sometimes believed to have each developed this trait independently, and show notable differences in such characteristics as communication between workers and methods of nest construction. Tribes include: * Ancylaini * Anthophorini * Apini * Bombini * Centridini * Ctenoplectrini *

Emphorini The Emphorini are a tribe of apid bees. Genera *'' Alepidosceles'' *'' Diadasia'' *'' Diadasina'' **'' Diadasina'' (''Diadasina'') **'' Diadasina'' ('' Leptometriella'') *'' Meliphilopsis'' *''Melitoma'' *'' Melitomella'' *''Ptilothrix ...

—(Subtribe Ancyloscelidina; Subtribe Emphorina) *

Ericrocidini The Ericrocidini are a tribe of apid bees. Genera *'' Acanthopus'' *'' Aglaomelissa'' *'' Ctenioschelus'' *'' Epiclopus'' *'' Ericrocis'' *'' Hopliphora'' *'' Mesocheira'' *'' Mesonychium'' *'' Mesoplia'' References * C. D. Michener (2000) '' ...

Eucerini The Eucerini (often called long-horned bees) are the most diverse tribe in the family Apidae, with over 32 genera worldwide that were previously classified as members of the family Anthophoridae. All species are solitary, though many nest in lar ...

* Euglossini *

Exomalopsini The Exomalopsini are a tribe of bees in the family Apidae. They are tiny to moderate in size and usually hairy. The abdomen often has pale banding. They can be distinguished from other tribes by a line of hairs along the inner edge of the eye. Mi ...

Isepeolini The Isepeolini are a tribe of apid bees. Genera *'' Isepeolus'' *'' Melectoides'' References * C. D. Michener (2000) ''The Bees of the World'', Johns Hopkins University Press. Apinae Bee tribes {{Apinae-stub ...

Melectini 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) and occasionally visit flowers e.g. in prairie landscapes of the United Stat ...

* Meliponini *

Osirini The Osirini are a tribe of cleptoparasitic apid bees, all but one genus exclusively from the Neotropics, and laying their eggs in the nests of bees in the apid tribe Tapinotaspidini; the one exceptional genus is ''Epeoloides'', which has one N ...

* Protepeolini * Rhathymini * Tapinotaspidini * Tarsaliini * Tetrapediini *

Teratognathini The Ancyloscelidini are a tribe of bees 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 ...

Nomadinae

The subfamily

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 ...

, or cuckoo bees, has 31 genera in 10 tribes which are all cleptoparasites in the nests of other bees. Tribes include: *

Ammobatini Ammobatini is a tribe of cuckoo bees in the family Apidae. There are about 8 genera and more than 130 described species in Ammobatini. Genera These eight genera belong to the tribe Ammobatini: * '' Ammobates'' Latreille, 1809 * ''Chiasmognathus ...

Ammobatoidini Ammobatoidini is a tribe of cuckoo bees in the family Apidae. There are at least 4 genera and 30 described species in Ammobatoidini. Genera * ''Aethammobates'' Baker, 1994 * ''Ammobatoides'' Radoszkowski, 1867 * ''Holcopasites ''Holcopasites' ...

Biastini Biastini is a tribe of cuckoo bees 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 ...

Brachynomadini Brachynomadini is a tribe of cuckoo bees in the family Apidae. There are at least 5 genera and 20 described species in Brachynomadini. Genera These five genera belong to the tribe Brachynomadini: * ''Brachynomada'' Holmberg, 1886 * '' Kelita'' ...

* Caenoprosopidini *

Epeolini Epeolini is a tribe of cuckoo bees, a tribe of the subfamily Nomadinae. Genera The tribe Epeolini is subdivided as follows: Subtribe: Odyneropsina Genus: '' Odyneropsis'' Subtribe: Rhogepeolina Genus: '' Rhogepeolus'' Subtribe: Epeolina Genu ...

—(Subtribe Epeolina; Subtribe Odyneropsina; Subtribe Thalestriina) * Hexepeolini * Neolarrini *

Nomadini With over 850 species, the genus ''Nomada'' is one of the largest genera in the family Apidae, and the largest genus of kleptoparasitic "cuckoo bees." Kleptoparasitic bees are so named because they enter the nests of a host and lay eggs there, st ...

Townsendiellini ''Townsendiella'' is a genus of cuckoo bees in the family Apidae, found in Central America, Mexico, and the southwestern United States. It is the sole genus of the tribe Townsendiellini. Species * ''Townsendiella californica'' Michener, 1936 * ' ...

Xylocopinae

The subfamily Xylocopinae, which includes carpenter bees, are mostly solitary, though they tend to be gregarious. Some tribe lineages, such as the

Allodapini The Allodapini is a tribe of bees in the subfamily Xylocopinae, family Apidae. They occur throughout sub-Saharan Africa, South East Asia, and Australasia. There is also a rare genus, Exoneuridia, that occurs in isolated regions of Turkey, Iraq, L ...

, contain eusocial species. Most members of this subfamily make nests in plant stems or wood. Tribes include: *

Ceratinini The cosmopolitan bee genus ''Ceratina'', often referred to as small carpenter bees, is the sole lineage of the tribe Ceratinini, and is not closely related to the more familiar carpenter bees. The genus presently contains over 300 species in 23 s ...

Manueliini ''Manuelia'' is a genus of bees in the subfamily Xylocopinae, the only genus in the tribe Manueliini. There are three species.Engel, M. S. (2012)On the classification of the bee genus ''Manuelia'' (Hymenoptera: Apidae).''Acta Entomologica Sloveni ...

Xylocopini Carpenter bees are species in the genus ''Xylocopa'' of the subfamily Xylocopinae. The genus includes some 500 bees in 31 subgenera. The common name "carpenter bee" derives from their nesting behavior; nearly all species burrow into hard plant m ...

References

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External links

BugGuide.Net: Family Apidae—Cuckoo, Carpenter, Digger, Bumble, and Honey Bees; and other bees
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BugGuide.net: Native Bees of North America
{{Authority control Bee families