Melitta (genus)
Encyclopedia
The bee
genus Melitta is a small group, with some 40 species, restricted to Africa
and the northern temperate zone. Most of the species are Palaearctic, though three rare species occur in North America
.
They are typically moderate-sized bees (8–15 mm), which are commonly oligolectic, greatly resembling bees of the genus Andrena
(family Andrenidae
), though with radically different mouthparts and a scopa
limited to the hind tibia and basitarsus.
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...
genus Melitta is a small group, with some 40 species, restricted to 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...
and the northern temperate zone. Most of the species are Palaearctic, though three rare species occur in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
.
They are typically moderate-sized bees (8–15 mm), which are commonly oligolectic, greatly resembling bees of the genus Andrena
Andrena
Andrena is the largest genus in the family Andrenidae, and is nearly worldwide in distribution, with the notable exceptions of Oceania and South America. With over 1,300 species, it is one of the largest of all bee genera...
(family Andrenidae
Andrenidae
The family Andrenidae is a large cosmopolitan non-parasitic bee family, with most of the diversity in temperate and/or arid areas , including some truly enormous genera...
), though with radically different mouthparts and a scopa
Scopa (biology)
The term scopa is used to refer to any of a number of different modifications on the body of a non-parasitic bee that form a pollen-carrying apparatus. In most bees, the scopa is simply a particularly dense mass of elongated, often branched, hairs on the hind leg...
limited to the hind tibia and basitarsus.
Species
- Melitta aegyptiaca (Radoszkowski, 1891)
- Melitta albida Cockerell, 1935
- Melitta americana (Smith, 1853)
- Melitta arrogans (Smith, 1879)
- Melitta barbarae Eardley, 2006
- Melitta bicollaris Warncke, 1973
- Melitta budensis (Mocsáry, 1878)
- Melitta californica Viereck, 1909
- Melitta cameroni (Cockerell, 1910)
- Melitta changmuensis Wu, 1988
- Melitta danae Eardley, 2006
- Melitta dimidiata Morawitz, 1876
- Melitta eickworti Snelling & Stage, 1995
- Melitta ezoana Yasumatsu & Hirashima, 1956
- Melitta fulvescenta Wu, 2000
- Melitta guichardi Michez, 2007
- Melitta haemorrhoidalis (Fabricius, 1775)
- Melitta harrietae (Bingham, 1897)
- Melitta heilungkiangensis Wu, 1978
- Melitta hispanica Friese 1900
- Melitta iberica Warncke, 1973
- Melitta japonica Yasumatsu & Hirashima, 1956
- Melitta kastiliensis Warncke, 1973
- Melitta katherinae Eardley, 2006
- Melitta latronis Cockerell, 1924
- Melitta leporina (Panzer, 1799)
- Melitta maura (Pérez, 1896)
- Melitta melanura (Nylander, 1852)
- Melitta melittoides (Viereck, 1909)
- Melitta mongolica Wu, 1978
- Melitta montana Wu, 1992
- Melitta murciana Warncke, 1973
- Melitta nigrabdominalis Wu, 1988
- Melitta nigricans Alfken, 1905
- Melitta piersbakeri Engel, 2005
- Melitta rasmonti Michez, 2007
- Melitta schmiedeknechti Friese, 1898
- Melitta schultzei Friese, 1909
- Melitta seitzi Alfken 1927
- Melitta sibirica (Morawitz, 1888)
- Melitta tomentosa Friese, 1900
- Melitta tricincta Kirby, 1802
- Melitta udmurtica Sitdikov 1986
- Melitta whiteheadi Eardley, 2006