Overview of Important Taxa
Prepared by Dr. Jerome G. Rozen and Valerie Giles, AMNH
COLLETIDAE—recognized by blunt or bifurcate glossa; single subantennal suture
beneath antennal socket; scopa, if present, on hind legs and in some cases
elsewhere.
Solitary; cells lined with cellophanelike material.
COLLETINAE— glossa weakly bilobed; scopa on hind legs
Colletes—outwardly arcuate posterior part of second recurrent vein; three submarginal
cells.
• Female without pygidial and pre-pygidial fimbriae; usually with converging inner
orbits below.
• 330 species worldwide except Australia; 90 Nearctic; 28 locally.
• Moderately slender, hairy bees similar with general aspect to Andrena, Halictus.
• Ours ground nesting; cells single or in linear series with cellophanelike linings
and partitions; provisions semiliquid, egg hanging from ceiling.
• Non-cocoon spinning larvae.
HYLAEINAE—body with hairs short, sparse, inconspicuous; forewing with two
submarginal cells, second much shorter than first.
Hylaeus— minute to moderate-sized, slender black bees with white or yellow face
markings.
• Scopa not apparent; provisions probably carried in crop.
• Nest in hollow stems, cavities in banks, old beetle burrows; cell lining
cellophanelike; cells in linear series; provisions semiliquid.
• Non-cocoon spinning larvae.
• Distribution worldwide; large genus with many subgenera 500+ species, about 10
species locally.
ANDRENIDAE—glossa pointed; two sutures extending from each antennal socket to
epistomal suture; found on all continents except Australia; all ground nesting.
• Non-cocoon spinning larvae.
ANDRENINAE—apex of marginal cell on wing margin, two or three submarginal cells,
yellow markings, if present, restricted to face.
Andrena— large, primarily Holarctic genus with 1120 species grouped into almost 100
subgenera; 70-80 species locally.
• Small to rather large, hairy, rather slender bees.
• Females with facial foveae depressed, broad, velvety.
• Scopa on hind leg, on trochanter, femur, and tibia.
• Most species solitary, some communal, usually with one generation per year,
usually over-wintering as adults.
• Many polylectic but some oligolectic; larval food mass firm, spheroidal.
PANURGINAE—apex of marginal cell subtruncate or truncate, not on costal margin;
yellow markings often on legs and other parts of body; usually with two
submarginal cells.
• Very small to moderate in size, less hairy then Andrenu.
• Female with depressed but glabrous, narrow facial fovea.
• Scopa only on hind tibia.
• Most species solitary, some communal, usually with one generation per year
over-wintering as fully feed quiescent larva.
• Most oligolectic; food mass firm, spherical or spheroidal.Panuginus—
first recurrent vein meeting or basal to first transverse cubitus.
• Only genus of Palaearctic tribe found in Nearctic as well, 18 species in New
World, 2 species locally.
Protandrena—like Pseudopanurgus but more slender, more finely punctate, female
without spine on fore coax, 6 species locally..
Calliopsis—subantennal areas short; anterior tentorial pit in outer subantennal suture- 2
species locally.
HALICTIDAE—scopa, if present, on hind legs; single antennal suture beneath antennal
socket.
HALICTINAE— similar in appearance to Colletes and Andrena, but basal vein of
forewing arcuate.
• Small to moderate in size.
• Most ground nesting but a few in rotting wood.
Solitary, social, cleptoparasitic, socially parasitic; some overwinter as adults
others as fully fed larvae..
Many polylectic, some oligolectic; food mass firm, spherical, spheroidal to
loaflike.
Halictus— apical tergal hair bands present; wing veins uniformly well developed; 4
species locally.
Lasioglossum—tergal hair bands absent or basal; with some, distal wing veins much
thinner than basal ones; 24 species locally..
Sphecodes—cleptoparasitic, nonmetallic, often with red metasoma contrasting with
black, deeply punctate head and mesosoma; 32 species locally.
Agapostemon—some areas of body bright green; longitudinal median specialized area of
T5 of female not cleft; propodeum enclosed by a distinct carina; 4 species locally
Augochlora—wme areas of body bright green or blue; longitudinal median specialized
area ofT5 of female cleft; 1 species locally.
MELITTIDAE—solitary andreniform bees with lorum slender; facial fovea absent;
single subantennal suture beneath antennal socket.
MEGACHILIDAE—first two segments of labial palpus long, flattened, two terminal
segments small, cylindrical, angling from first two.
• Solitary and parasitic bees only.
MEGACHILINIAE—two submarginal cells of approximately equal length; labrum
longer than broad; females of non-parasitic taxa with metasomal scopa.
Nests in preformed cavities; cells usually formed from plant material carried into
nest by female.
Anthidium—robust, nonmetallic, with extensive yellow markings over much of body
stigma small; 2 species locally.
• Nests made with cottonlike plant hairs.
Osmia— often robust, somewhat metallic bluish to greenish bees without yellow or white
makings on body; parapsidal lines punctiform, not linear; 18 species locally.
• Nest walls made with masticated leaves mixed with nectar.
Megachile—nonmetallic, arolia absent; 26 species locally.
• Nests usually made with leaf or petal snippets.
Coelioxys— parasitic, scopa absent; nonmetallic; eyes hairy; arolia absent; 13 species
locally.
APIDAE—first two segments of labial palpus long, flattened, two terminal segments
small, cylindrical, angling from first two; females ofnonparasitic forms with
sopas on legs or with tibial corbiculae; labrum usually broader than long; two 01-
three submarginal cells.
• Solitary, parasitic, and social taxa.
• Nesting in many situations.
XYLOCOPINAE—our species nesting in dead plant material.
Xylocopa— large bees; stigma absent; hind basitarsus longer than hind tibia; 1 species
locally.
Ceratina—small bees, often greenish with yellow mark on clypeus; stigma present; 3
species locally.
NOMADINAE— wasplike, cleptoparasitic bees.
Nomada—slender common cleptoparasite of Andrena but also of certain other genera;
metasoma without distinct apical hair bands; 60 species locally.
APINAE—usually hairy bees; females with scopa on hind legs or with corbiculae; ours
noncleptoparasitic except for one genus.
Melissodes— large, robust bees; males with long antenna; paraglossae elongate; tegulae
nan-owed in front; wings hairy beyond veins; marginal cell longer than distance
from its apex to wing tip; female with scopa; 16 species locally.
Anthophora—large, robust bees, males with normally short antennae; paraglossae not
elongate; paraglossae normally short; tegulae rounded on anterolateral border;
wings papillate beyond veins; marginal cell at most as long a distance from it
apex to wing tip, usually shorter, female with scopa; 6 species locally.
Bombus— Females corbiculate (if not parasitic); malar area elongate; jugal lobe absent;
primitively eusocial, socially parasitic; 18 species locally.
|
Bees of New England and the Mid-Atlantic Region