Xylocopinae

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Xylocopinae
Xylocopa violacea
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Suborder: Apocrita
Superfamily: Apoidea
Family: Apidae
Subfamily: Xylocopinae
Tribes

Allodapini - Allodapine bees
Ceratinini - Small carpenter bees
Manueliini
Xylocopini - Carpenter bees

The subfamily Xylocopinae occurs worldwide, and includes the familiar Carpenter bees and their more obscure relatives; there are many species, but relatively few genera (only 4 genera outside of the allodapines). The tribes within the subfamily other than Xylocopini consist mostly of small, relatively hairless, shiny bees, whose close relationship to the large, hairy carpenter bees is not easily apparent. The vast majority make nests in dead wood, stems, or pith, and while many are solitary, a fair number are communal or subsocial, and there are some genera of allodapines which commonly form eusocial colonies.

[edit] References

  • C. D. Michener (2007) The Bees of the World, 2nd Edition, Johns Hopkins University Press.
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