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Melittidae

Melittid bees of the Afrotropical Region

(Life: Kingdom: Metazoa (animals); Phylum: Arthropoda; Class: Hexapoda; Order: Hymenoptera; Superfamily: Apoidea)

Classification

Dasypodainae
Meganomiinae
Melittinae

Distribution

Afrotropical, Palaearctic and Nearctic regions.

Biology

Provision the nest with pollen and nectar or floral oils.

References

Brothers D.J. 1999. Phylogeny and evolution of wasps, ants and bees (Hymenoptera, Chrysidoidea, Vespoidea and Apoidea) Zoologica Scripta 28: 233–250.

Cockerell, T.D.A. 1934. Descriptions and records of bees.—CXLVIII. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, (ser. 10) 13: 444–456.

Eardley, C & Urban, R. 2010. Catalogue of Afrotropical bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Apiformes). Zootaxa 2455: 1-548.

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.

Eardley C.,Kuhlmann M., Pauly A. 2010. The Bee Genera and Subgenera of sub-Saharan Africa. Abc Taxa vol 7: i-vi, 138 pp.

Friese, H. 1909. 8. Hymenoptera. 5. Apidae. In: Sjoestedts, B.Y. (Ed.) Kilimandjaro-Meru Expedition. Stockholm, 8: pp. 119–168.

Friese, H. 1915. Zur Bienenfauna von Abessinien. (Hym.). Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift, 1915: 265–298.

Kuhlmann, M. 2009. Patterns of diversity, endemism and distribution of bees (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Anthophila) in southern Africa. South African Journal of Botany, 75: 726–738.

Kuhlmann, M. 2012. Two new species of the South African endemic bee genus Rediviva Friese (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Melittidae). Zootaxa 3517: 71–78.

Kuhlmann, M. & Eardley, C.D. 2012. Pollen resources of non-Apis bees in southern Africa. In: Patiny, S. (Ed.) Evolution of plant-pollinator relationships. Oxford University Press, Cambridge, pp. 439–456.

Manning, J. C. & Brothers, D.J. 1986. Floral relations of for species of Rediviva in Natal (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Melittidae). Journal of the Entomological Society of Southern Africa, 49: 107–114.

Manning, J. & Goldblatt, P. 2002. The pollination of Tritoniopsis parviflora (Iridaceae) by the oil-collecting bee Rediviva gigas (Hymenoptera: Melittidae): the first record of oil-secretion in African Iridaceae. South African Journal of Botany, 87: 171–176.

Michener, C.D. 1981. Classification of the bee family Melittidae with a review of species of Meganomiinae. Contributions of the American Entomological Institute, 18: 1–135.

Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland, 992 pp.

Michez, D., Patiny, S. & Danforth, B.N. 2009. Phylogeny of the bee family Melittidae (Hymenoptera: Anthophila) based on combined molecular and morphological data. Systematic Entomology, 34: 574–597.

Pauw, A. 2006. Floral syndromes accurately predict pollination by a specialized oil-collecting bee (Rediviva peringueyi, Melittidae) in a guild of South African orchids (Coryciinae). American Journal of Botany, 93: 917–926.

Pauw A, Kahnt B, Kuhlmann M, Michez D, Montgomery GA, Murray E, Danforth BN. 2017. Long-legged bees make adaptive leaps: linking adaptation to coevolution in a plant–pollinator network. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 284: 20171707.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2017.1707

Robertson, H.G. & Cochrane, M.A. 2005. Obituary - Vincent Booth Whitehead (2 September 1921–11 April 2005). African Entomology, 13: 386–389.

Sharkey, M., 2007. Phylogeny and classification of Hymenoptera. Zootaxa 1668: 521–548.

Sharkey, M. J., Carpenter, J. M., Vilhelmsen, L., Heraty, J., Liljeblad, J., Dowling, A. P.G., Schulmeister, S., Murray, D., Deans, A. R., Ronquist, F., Krogmann, L. and Wheeler, W. C. 2012. Phylogenetic relationships among superfamilies of Hymenoptera. Cladistics 28: 80–112. doi: 10.1111/j.1096-0031.2011.00366.x

Steiner, K.E. & Whitehead, V.B. 1990. Pollinator adaptation to oil-secreting flowers–Rediviva and Diascia. Evolution, 44: 1701–1707. doi:10.1111/j.1558-5646.1990.tb03857.x

Steiner, K.E. & Whitehead, V.B. 1991. Oil flowers and oil bees: further evidence for pollinator adaptation. Evolution, 45: 1493–1501. doi:10.1111/j.1558-5646.1991.tb02651.x

Whitehead, V.B. & Steiner, K.E. 2001. Oil-collecting bees of the winter rainfall area of South Africa (Melittidae, Rediviva). Annals of the South African Museum, 108: 143–277.

Whitehead, V.B., Steiner, K.E. & Eardley, C.D. 2008. Oil-collecting bees mostly of the summer rainfall area of southern Africa (Hymenoptera: Melittidae: Rediviva). Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society, 81: 122–141.

Credits

Photographs © Simon van Noort (Iziko Museums of South Africa) or photographs © Laurence Packer's website: Bee Tribes of the World, or © Michael Kuhlmann (Natural History Museum London).


Web author Simon van Noort (Iziko South African Museum)

 

Citation: van Noort, S. 2024. WaspWeb: Hymenoptera of the World. URL: www.waspweb.org (accessed on <day/month/year>).

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