''Exaerete'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of euglossine

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 monophyletic lineage within the superfami ...

s found from

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

to northern

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...

. Like all

orchid bee The tribe Euglossini, in the subfamily Apinae, commonly known as orchid bees or euglossine bees, are the only group of corbiculate bees whose non-parasitic members do not all possess eusocial behavior. Description Most of the tribe's species ...

s, they are restricted to the

Neotropics The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In bioge ...

. All but one species is metallic green, and they are

cleptoparasite 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 foo ...

s in the nests of other euglossines in the genera ''

Eufriesea ''Eufriesea'' is a genus of euglossine bees. Like all orchid bees, they are restricted to the Neotropics. All species range from entirely to at least partially metallic (the face and/or tegulae), though much of the body in some species may be b ...

'' and ''

Eulaema ''Eulaema'' is a genus of large-bodied euglossine bees that occur primarily in the Neotropics. They are robust brown or black bees, hairy or velvety, and often striped with yellow or orange, typically resembling bumblebees. They lack metallic co ...

''. It contains the following species: * ''

Exaerete azteca ''Exaerete azteca'' is a species of euglossine bees 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 hon ...

'' Moure, 1964 * ''

Exaerete dentata ''Exaerete dentata'' is a species of insect belonging to the family Apidae. Synonym: * ''Apis dentata'' Linnaeus, 1758 (= basionym In the scientific name of organisms, basionym or basyonym means the original name on which a new name is based; ...

'' (Linnaeus, 1758) * ''

Exaerete fallaciosa ''Exaerete'' is a genus of euglossine bees found from Mexico to northern Argentina. Like all orchid bees, they are restricted to the Neotropics. All but one species is metallic green, and they are cleptoparasites in the nests of other euglossin ...

'' Engel, 2018 * ''

Exaerete frontalis ''Exaerete frontalis'' is a species of euglossine bees. Description Behavior Exarete frontalis is a cleptoparasitic species. Females do not build own nests but lay their egg in nests of other large euglossine bees, especially in the genera E ...

'' (Guérin-Méneville, 1845) * ''

Exaerete kimseyae ''Exaerete'' is a genus of euglossine bees found from Mexico to northern Argentina. Like all orchid bees, they are restricted to the Neotropics. All but one species is metallic green, and they are cleptoparasites in the nests of other euglossin ...

'' Oliviera, 2011 * ''

Exaerete lepeletieri ''Exaerete'' is a genus of euglossine bees found from Mexico to northern Argentina. Like all orchid bees, they are restricted to the Neotropics. All but one species is metallic green, and they are cleptoparasites in the nests of other euglossin ...

'' Oliviera & Nemesio, 2003 * ''

Exaerete salsai ''Exaerete'' is a genus of euglossine bees found from Mexico to northern Argentina. Like all orchid bees, they are restricted to the Neotropics. All but one species is metallic green, and they are cleptoparasites in the nests of other euglossin ...

'' Nemesio, 2011 * ''

Exaerete smaragdina ''Exaerete smaragdina'' is a species of kleptoparasitic euglossine bees. Description ''Exaerete smaragdina'' can reach a length of about . The body shape of these bees is euceriform. Body color is metallic green. The metatibiae are three times l ...

'' (Guérin-Méneville, 1845) * ''

Exaerete tricosa ''Exaerete'' is a genus of euglossine bees found from Mexico to northern Argentina. Like all orchid bees, they are restricted to the Neotropics. All but one species is metallic green, and they are cleptoparasites in the nests of other euglossin ...

'' Engel & Bembé, 2020 * ''

Exaerete trochanterica ''Exaerete'' is a genus of euglossine bees found from Mexico to northern Argentina. Like all orchid bees, they are restricted to the Neotropics. All but one species is metallic green, and they are cleptoparasites in the nests of other euglossin ...

'' (Friese, 1900)

References

External links

* David Roubik (Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute)
Diagnostic photographs of several ''Exaerete'' species
Bee genera Hymenoptera of North America Hymenoptera of South America Euglossini Orchid pollinators {{Apinae-stub