Meliponini - WaspWeb

Distribution	Worldwide in tropical and subtropical regions.
Biology	These stingless bees are social and often nest in cavities. The comb is constructed in a horizontal manner and includes pots for the storage of honey and pollen. Most genera actively collect nectar and pollen from flowers, except for Cleptotrigona, which is a robber bee (cleptoparasitic) stealing pollen and honey from nests of Hypotrigona and Liotrigona for the provision of its own nests in tree cavities (Eardley et al, 2010).
References	Eardley, C.D. 2004. Taxonomic revision of the African stingless bees (Apoidea: Apidae: Apinae: Meliponini). African Plant Protection 10: 63–96. Eardley, C & Urban, R. 2010. Catalogue of Afrotropical bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Apiformes). Zootaxa 2455: 1-548. Eardley C.,Kuhlmann M., Pauly A. 2010. The Bee Genera and Subgenera of sub-Saharan Africa. Abc Taxa vol 7: i-vi, 138 pp. Eardley, C, Finnamore, A.T. & Michener, C.D. 1993. Superfamily Apoidea (pp. 279-357). In GOULET, H. & HUBER, J. (eds). Hymenoptera of the World: an identification guide to families. Research Branch, Agriculture Canada, Ottawa, Canada, 668 pp. Michener, C.D. 2000. The Bees of the World. Johns Hopkins University Press. 953 pp.
Credits	Photographs © Simon van Noort (Iziko Museums of South Africa)

Afrotropical Meliponini