Exaerete is a genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 of euglossine

Euglossini

Euglossine bees, also called orchid bees, are the only group of corbiculate bees whose non-parasitic members do not all possess eusocial behavior. Most of the species are solitary, though a few are communal, or exhibit simple forms of eusociality...

 bee

Bee

Bees are flying insects closely related to wasps and ants, and are known for their role in pollination and for producing honey and beeswax. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamily Apoidea, presently classified by the unranked taxon name Anthophila...

s. Like all orchid bees, they are restricted to the Neotropics.

Like most orchid bees, they are metallic (green, blue, or purple), but they are cleptoparasites in the nests of other euglossines in the genera Eufriesea

Eufriesea

Eufriesea is a genus of euglossine bees. Like all orchid bees, they are restricted to the Neotropics.They are of metallic or brown/black color and hairy.-Distribution:...

and Eulaema

Eulaema

Eulaema is a genus of large-bodied euglossine bees that occur primarily in the Neotropics.They are robust brown or black bees, hairy or velvety and often striped with yellow or orange, typically resembling bumblebees.-Distribution:...

.

Species

• E. azteca Moure, 1964
• E. dentata (Linnaeus, 1758)
• E. frontalis (Guérin-Méneville, 1845)
• E. guaykuru Anjos-Silva & Rebêlo, 2006
• E. kimseyae Oliviera, 2011
• E. lepeletieri Oliviera & Nemesei, 2003
• E. salsai Nemesio, 2011
• E. smaragdina (Guérin-Méneville, 1845)
• E. trochanterica (Friese, 1900)

Further reading

(2004): Phylogeny and Biology of Neotropical Orchid Bees (Euglossini). Annual Review of Entomology 49: 377-404.

External links

• David Roubik (Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute): Diagnostic photographs of several Exaerete species