Allodapula is a genus of bees in the family Apidae

Apidae

The Apidae are a large family of bees, comprising the common honey bees, stingless bees , carpenter bees, orchid bees, cuckoo bees, bumblebees, and various other less well-known groups...

, subfamily Xylocopinae

Xylocopinae

The subfamily Xylocopinae occurs worldwide, and includes the familiar Carpenter bees and their more obscure relatives; there are many species, but relatively few genera...

. They are similar in appearance, around 7mm in length, with swarthy head and thorax, contrasting with the brown abdomen. After the removal of a number of former species into other genera, the genus as presently defined occurs only in Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

.

The nest is inside a hollow weed or shrub stalk, and the tip of the abdomen

Abdomen

In vertebrates such as mammals the abdomen constitutes the part of the body between the thorax and pelvis. The region enclosed by the abdomen is termed the abdominal cavity...

 is used to close off the nest entrance. A set of eggs are laid inside the plant stalk, in quick succession, so as to hatch together. They are placed at about the same height, above the bottom of the nest. The larva

Larva

A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...

e are fed on pollen

Pollen

Pollen is a fine to coarse powder containing the microgametophytes of seed plants, which produce the male gametes . Pollen grains have a hard coat that protects the sperm cells during the process of their movement from the stamens to the pistil of flowering plants or from the male cone to the...

, which like other bees, is carried on hairs of the hind pair of legs.

Species

• Allodapula acutigera Cockerell, 1936
• Allodapula brunnescens (Cockerell, 1934)
• Allodapula dichroa (Strand, 1915)
• Allodapula empeyi Michener, 1975
• Allodapula guillarmodi Michener, 1970
• Allodapula hessei Michener, 1971
• Allodapula jucunda (Smith, 1879)
• Allodapula maculithorax Michener, 1971
• Allodapula melanopus (Cameron, 1905)
• Allodapula monticola (Cockerell, 1933)
• Allodapula ornaticeps Michener, 1971
• Allodapula palliceps (Friese, 1924)
• Allodapula rozeni Michener, 1975
• Allodapula turneri (Cockerell, 1934)
• Allodapula variegata (Smith, 1854)
• Allodapula xerica Michener, 1971