Melittidae

Female Melitta leporina, copyright Steven Falk.

Belongs within: Apiformes.

The Melittidae are a group of short-tongued bees in which the scopa is limited to the metatibia and metabasitarsus (Engel 2001).

Characters (from Engel 2001): Labrum frequently much wider than long, apical margin fringed with bristles. Single subantennal suture; suture meets lower margin of antennal socket frequently at midpoint, although sometimes slightly laterad midpoint (either outer or inner side of lower margin), never meeting outer margin of antennal socket. Facial foveae absent. Lower lateral margin of clypeus not bent posteriorly on either side of labrum. Flabellum absent; glossa acute; glossal rod absent; paraglossa frequently reduced, sometimes absent; labial palpus with first two segments cylindrical, not sheath-like, third and fourth segments in line with preceding segments, not projecting laterally. Mentum elongate, tapering basally, curved over submentum to its articulation; apex of mentum articulated with prementum via fragmentum; submentum strongly V-shaped and sclerotised, submental arms articulating with cardines slightly above cardo-stipital articulations. Galeal blade equal or shorter than stipes, frequently longer than prepalpal section of galea; galeal comb present; stipital comb and concavity absent; basistipital process elongate. Pre-episternal groove absent. Mesocoxa entirely exposed. Metabasitibial plate frequently distinct. Scopa restricted to metatibia and metabasitarsus. Jugal lobe of hind wing one quarter to one half as long as vannal lobe. Metapostnotum without pubescence. Pygidial plate and fimbria of female present; pygidial plate of male frequently absent. Volsella present; penis valves do not form a distinct spatha.

<==Melittidae [Dasypodainae]
    |--+--Sambini E01
    |  |    |--Samba E01
    |  |    `--Haplomelitta E01
    |  `--Dasypodaini CSD10
    |       |--Eremaphanta E01
    |       |--Capicola E01
    |       |--Hesperapis CSD10
    |       |    |--H. larreae Cockerell 1907 CSD10
    |       |    `--H. regularis HR11
    |       |--Xeralictoides E01
    |       `--Dasypoda Latreille 1802 L02
    |            |--D. argentata Panzer 1809 CSD10
    |            |--D. hirtipes [=Andrena hirtipes] L02
    |            `--D. plumipes MS01 [=Andrena plumipes L02]
    `--+--Meganomiinae CSD10
       |    |--Meganomia binghami (Cockerell 1909) CSD10
       |    |--Ceratomonia E01
       |    |--Uromonia E01
       |    `--Pseudophilanthus E01
       `--Melittinae CSD10
            |--Redivivini E01
            |    |--Rediviva E01
            |    `--Redivivoides E01
            `--Melittini E01
                 |  i. s.: Dolichochile E01
                 |--+--Promelitta [Promelittini] CSD10
                 |  |    `--P. alboclypeata (Friese 1900) CSD10
                 |  `--Macropidinae [Macropididae] E01
                 |       |--Eomacropis Engel 2001 CSD10, E01 [Eomacropidini]
                 |       |    `--*E. glaesaria Engel 2001 E01
                 |       `--+--Palaeomacropis eocenicus CSD10, PK17
                 |          `--Macropis [Macropidini] CSD10
                 |               |--M. fulvipes PK17
                 |               |--M. labiata R35
                 |               `--M. nuda (Provancher 1882) CSD10
                 `--Melitta CSD10
                      |--M. albofasciata MS01
                      |--M. arrogans (Smith 1879) CSD10
                      |--M. haemorrhoidalis R35
                      `--M. leporina MS01

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[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.

[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.

[HR11] Heraty, J., F. Ronquist, J. M. Carpenter, D. Hawks, S. Schulmeister, A. P. Dowling, D. Murray, J. Munro, W. C. Wheeler, N. Schiff & M. Sharkey. 2011. Evolution of the hymenopteran megaradiation. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 60: 73–88.

[L02] Latreille, P. A. 1802. Histoire Naturelle des Fourmis, et recueil de mémoires et d'observations sur les abeilles, les araignées, les faucheurs, et autres insectes. Théophile Barrois père: Paris.

[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.

[PK17] Peters, R. S., L. Krogmann, C. Mayer, A. Donath, S. Gunkel, K. Meusemann, A. Kozlov, L. Podsiadlowski, M. Petersen, R. Lanfear, P. A. Diez, J. Heraty, K. M. Kjer, S. Klopfstein, R. Meier, C. Polidori, T. Schmitt, S. Liu, X. Zhou, T. Wappler, J. Rust, B. Misof & O. Niehuis. 2017. Evolutionary history of the Hymenoptera. Current Biology 27 (7): 1013–1018.

[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.