The subfamily Dasypodainae (originally named "Dasypodidae") is a small subfamily of melittid

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, with more than 100 species in eight genera,Michez D. (2008)
Monographic revision of the melittid bees (Hymenoptera, Apoidea, Melittidae sensu lato)
'' Proc. Neth. Entomol. Soc. Meet. 19: 31-39. found in

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 ...

and the northern temperate zone, primarily in xeric habitats. They are typically small to moderate-sized bees, with shaggy scopae, and are commonly

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 mult ...

(e.g., ''

Hesperapis regularis ''Hesperapis regularis'' is an oligolectic bee in the family Melittidae. Distribution This bee is native to California, and inhabits meadows, fields, and gardens, where it visits only flowers in the genus '' Clarkia''. Numerous native species o ...

''). All members of this family have two submarginal cells in the forewing.

Taxonomy

Initial molecular work suggested that the family Melittidae was

paraphyletic In taxonomy (general), taxonomy, a group is paraphyletic if it consists of the group's most recent common ancestor, last common ancestor and most of its descendants, excluding a few Monophyly, monophyletic subgroups. The group is said to be pa ...

, and that its subfamilies (including Dasypodainae) should therefore be elevated to family status. However, these studies included very few melittids, due to their rarity. A 2013 investigation included a greater number of melittid bees and concluded that the family was probably monophyletic, thus supporting Dasypodainae as a subfamily of Melittidae. The largest genus, ''

Hesperapis ''Hesperapis'' is a genus of evening bees in the family Melittidae. There are at least 30 described species in ''Hesperapis''.Michez D. (2008) ''Monographic revision of the melittid bees (Hymenoptera, Apoidea, Melittidae sensu lato)].'' Proc. Net ...

'', contains some 40 known species, plus several more undescribed ones, with an unusual

disjunct distribution In biology, a taxon with a disjunct distribution is one that has two or more groups that are related but considerably separated from each other geographically. The causes are varied and might demonstrate either the expansion or contraction of a s ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

and southern

. The subfamily Dasypodainae groups these tribes and genera: *Tribe Dasypodaini **''

Dasypoda ''Dasypoda'' is a genus of bees in the family Melittidae. Species * ''Dasypoda albimana'' Pérez, 1905 * '' Dasypoda albipila'' Spinola, 1838 * ''Dasypoda altercator'' (Harris 1780) * ''Dasypoda argentata'' Panzer 1809 * '' Dasypoda aurata'' Ru ...

'' **'' Eremaphanta'' **''

Capicola Capocollo () or coppa () is a traditional Italian and Corsican pork cold cut ('' salume'') made from the dry-cured muscle running from the neck to the fourth or fifth rib of the pork shoulder or neck. It is a whole-muscle salume, dry cured, an ...

'' **''

'' ***''

'' — specialist on '' Clarkia'' species flowers in

California chaparral and woodlands The California chaparral and woodlands is a terrestrial ecoregion of southwestern Oregon, northern, central, and southern California (United States) and northwestern Baja California (Mexico), located on the west coast of North America. It is a ...

habitats and gardens in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. *Tribe Sambini **'' Haplomelitta'' **''

Samba Samba (), also known as samba urbano carioca (''urban Carioca samba'') or simply samba carioca (''Carioca samba''), is a Brazilian music genre that originated in the Afro-Brazilian communities of Rio de Janeiro in the early 20th century. Havin ...

'' *Tribe Promelittini **'' Promelitta'' **'' Afrodasypoda''

References

C. D. Michener Charles Duncan Michener (September 22, 1918 – November 1, 2015) was an American entomologist born in Pasadena, California. He was a leading expert on bees, his ''magnum opus'' being ''The Bees of the World'' published in 2000. __TOC__ Biogra ...

(2000) ''The Bees of the World'', Johns Hopkins University Press.

External links

* Melittidae {{Bee-stub