Apidae

Centris analis, photographed by Stanislav Krejčík.

Belongs within: Apiformes.
Contains: Anthrena, Anthophorini, Osirini, Nomadinae, Melectini, Corbiculata, Xylocopinae, Eucerini.

The Apidae are a diverse group of long-tongued bees in which the clypeus is bent posteriorly lateral to the narrowed labral articulation (Engel 2001). The apids include both solitary and eusocial taxa, with the eusocial taxa all contained within the Corbiculata. A large clade including the Nomadinae, Osirini and Melectini is cleptoparasitic, laying their eggs in the brood cells of other bees. The genus Ctenoplectrina is also cleptoparasitic, but belongs within the Ctenoplectrini which includes a group of bees specialised for collecting floral oils, pollen and nectar from Cucurbitaceae. The Centridini are also often collectors of floral oils but with their preferred host plants belonging to the Malpighiaceae.

Characters (from Engel 2001): Single subantennal suture; suture meeting lower margin of antennal socket. Facial foveae absent. Lower lateral margins of clypeus bent posteriorly on either side of labrum. Flabellum present; glossa acute; labial palpus with first two segments flattened, sheath-like, and elongate; submentum strongly V-shaped and sclerotized, submental arms articulating with cardines slightly above cardo-stipital articulations. Galeal comb absent; stipital comb and concavity present; basistiptial process elongate. Pre-episternal groove absent. Mesocoxa entirely exposed. Metabasitibial frequently present. Jugal lobe short. Strong metasomal scopa absent; scopa variously formed on metafemur and metatibia, metatibia sometimes developed into a corbicula (in non-parasitic females). Metapostnotum setose. Pygidial plate and fimbria of female typically present.

<==Apidae [Anthophoridae, Anthophorinae, Apiariae, Apinae, Apiti, Euceriti, Parasitae, Tetrapediini, Xylocopiformes]
    |  i. s.: Pygomelissa Engel & Wappler in Wappler & Engel 2003 WE03
    |           `--*P. lutetia Engel & Wappler in Wappler & Engel 2003 WE03
    |         Halictoides inermis MS01
    |         Rhophites quinquespinosus MS01
    |         Anthrena MS01
    |         Entechnia taurea [=Melitoma taurea] R35
    |         Sarapoda R35
    |           |--S. bimaculata R35
    |           `--S. bombiformis C08
    |--+--Anthophorini CSD10
    |  `--+--Osirini CSD10
    |     `--+--Nomadinae CSD10
    |        `--Melectini CSD10
    `--+--Centridini CSD10
       |    |--Epicharis analis Lepeletier 1841 CSD10
       |    `--+--Corbiculata CSD10
       |       `--Centris CSD10
       |            |  i. s.: C. cinerea R35
       |            |         C. hoplopoda GEEL09
       |            |         C. murales R35
       |            |         C. pallida FJ01
       |            |--+--C. analis (Fabricius 1804) CSD10
       |            |  `--C. longimana Fabricius 1804 CSD10
       |            `--+--C. dimidiata (Olivier 1789) CSD10
       |               `--+--C. hoffmanseggiae Cockerell 1897 CSD10
       |                  `--+--C. atripes Mocsáry 1899 CSD10
       |                     `--C. decolorata Lepeletier 1841 CSD10
       `--+--+--Xylocopinae CSD10
          |  `--Tetrapedia CSD10
          |      |--T. (Tetrapedia) diversipes CSD10
          |      `--T. maura Cresson 1878 CSD10
          `--+--Ctenoplectrini [Ctenoplectridae, Ctenoplectrinae] CSD10
             |    |--Ctenoplectrina Cockerell 1930 E01
             |    `--Ctenoplectra Kirby in Kirby & Spence 1826 E01
             |         |--*C. chalybea Smith 1858 M65
             |         |--C. albolimbata Magretti 1895 CSD10
             |         |--C. australica Cockerell 1926 M65
             |         `--C. bequaerti Cockerell 1930 CSD10
             `--+--+--Ancyloscelis chilensis CSD10, R35
                |  `--Exomalopsini [Exomalopsinae] CSD10
                |       |--Anthophorula completa (Cockerell 1935) CSD10
                |       `--Exomalopsis herbsti R35
                `--+--+--Eucerini CSD10
                   |  |--Teratognathini E01
                   |  `--Ancyla CSD10
                   |       |--A. anatolica Warncke 1979 CSD10
                   |       `--A. asiatica Friese 1922 CSD10
                   `--+--Tapinotaspidini CSD10
                      |    |--+--Tapinotaspoides CSD10
                      |    |  `--Caenonomada CSD10
                      |    `--+--Paratetrapedia CSD10
                      |       `--Arhysoceble picta (Friese 1899) CSD10
                      `--Emphorini CSD10
                           |--Alepidosceles CSD10
                           `--+--+--Meliphilopsis CSD10
                              |  `--Diadasia bituberculata (Cresson 1878) CSD10
                              `--+--Melitoma [Melitomini] CSD10
                                 |    `--M. chilensis BM76
                                 `--+--Diadasina distincta (Holmberg 1903) CSD10
                                    `--Ptilothrix CSD10

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[BM76] Bohart, R. M., & A. S. Menke. 1976. Sphecid Wasps of the World. University of California Press: Berkeley.

[CSD10] Cardinal, S., J. Straka & B. N. Danforth. 2010. Comprehensive phylogeny of apid bees reveals the evolutionary origins and antiquity of cleptoparasitism. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA 107 (37): 16207–16211.

[C08] Cheel. 1908. Notes and exhibits. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 33: 287.

[E01] Engel, M. S. 2001. A monograph of the Baltic amber bees and evolution of the Apoidea (Hymenoptera). Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 259: 1–192.

[FJ01] Field, L. H., & T. H. Jarman. 2001. Mating behaviour. In: Field, L. H. (ed.) The Biology of Wetas, King Crickets and Their Allies pp. 317–332. CABI Publishing: Wallingford (UK).

[GEEL09] Greathead, D. J., N. L. Evenhuis & C. J. Einicker Lamas. 2009. Bombyliidae (bee flies). In: Brown, B. V., A. Borkent, J. M. Cumming, D. M. Wood, N. E. Woodley & M. A. Zumbado (eds) Manual of Central American Diptera vol. 1 pp. 565–576. NRC Research Press: Ottawa.

[M65] Michener, C. D. 1965. A classification of the bees of the Australian and South Pacific regions. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 130: 1–362.

[MS01] Mocsáry, A., & V. Szépligeti. 1901. Hymenopterák [Hymenopteren]. In: Horváth, G. (ed.) Zichy Jenő Gróf Harmadik Ázsiai Utazása [Dritte Asiatische Forschungsreise des Grafen Eugen Zichy] vol. 2. Zichy Jenő Gróf Harmadik Ázsiai Utazásának Állattani Eredményei [Zoologische Ergebnisse der Dritten Asiatischen Forschungsreise des Grafen Eugen Zichy] pp. 121–169. Victor Hornyánszky: Budapest, and Karl W. Hierseman: Leipzig.

[R35] Rayment, T. 1935. A Cluster of Bees: Sixty essays on the life-histories of Australian bees, with specific descriptions of over 100 new species. Endeavour Press: Sydney.

[WE03] Wappler, T., & M. S. Engel. 2003. The Middle Eocene bee faunas of Eckfeld and Messel, Germany (Hymenoptera: Apoidea). Journal of Paleontology 77 (5): 908–921.

Last updated: 22 June 2018.