Colletidae

{{Short description|Family of bees}} {{Automatic taxobox | image = Colletes daviesanus 2005.07.17 11.08.11.jpg | image_caption = ''Colletes daviesanus'' | taxon = Colletidae | authority = Lepeletier, 1841 | subdivision_ranks = Subfamilies | subdivision = *Colletinae *Diphaglossinae *Euryglossinae *Hylaeinae *Xeromelissinae }}

The '''Colletidae''' are a family of bees, and are often referred to collectively as '''plasterer bees''' or '''polyester bees''', due to the method of smoothing the walls of their nest cells with secretions applied with their mouthparts; these secretions dry into a cellophane-like lining.<ref name="mich" >C. D. Michener (2007) ''The Bees of the World'', 2nd Edition, pg. 133, Johns Hopkins University Press.</ref> The five subfamilies, 54 genera, and over 2000 species are all evidently solitary (with the known exception of but one species, ''Amphylaeus morosus''),<ref>Hearn Lucas R., Stevens Mark I. and Schwarz Michael P. (2023) The presence of a guard vicariously drives split sex ratios in a facultatively social bee. ''Biol. Lett.'' 19: 20220528. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2022.0528</ref> though many nest in aggregations. Two of the subfamilies, Euryglossinae and Hylaeinae, lack the external pollen-carrying apparatus (the scopa) that otherwise characterizes most bees, and instead carry the pollen in their crops. These groups, and most genera in this family, have liquid or semiliquid pollen masses on which the larvae develop.

They can be found all over the world, but the most species live in South America and Australia. Over 50% of all bee species living in Australia belong to this family.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Slattery |first=Patricia S. |last2=Parslow |first2=Ben A. |last3=Lee |first3=Michael S. Y. |last4=Batley |first4=Michael |last5=Walker |first5=Ken L. |last6=Schwarz |first6=Michael P. |date=2023-02-28 |title=Disparate continental scale patterns in floral host breadth of Australian colletid bees (Colletidae: Hymenoptera) |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s13592-023-00996-z |journal=Apidologie |language=en |volume=54 |issue=2 |pages=17 |doi=10.1007/s13592-023-00996-z |issn=1297-9678|doi-access=free }}</ref> Only the genera ''Colletes'' and ''Hylaeus'' can be found in Europe, while in the Western Hemisphere, in addition to these two, the genera ''Caupolicana'', ''Eulonchopria'', and ''Ptiloglossa'' are found.

Australian genera include ''Euhesma'', a large genus, members of which has been split off into other genera such as ''Euryglossa'' and ''Callohesma''.<ref>{{cite book|last=Michener|first=Duncan Charles|title=The bees of the world|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bu_1gmY13FIC&q=Euhesma&pg=PA217|access-date=8 December 2010|year=2000|publisher=JHU Press|isbn=978-0-8018-6133-8|pages=216–7}}</ref> [[File:Unequal Cellophane Bee (Colletes inaequalis).jpg|alt=Unequal Cellophane Bee (Colletes inaequalis)|thumb|Unequal cellophane bee (''Colletes inaequalis'')]] Traditionally, this family was believed to be likely the most "primitive" among extant bees, based primarily on the similarities of their mouthparts (the unique possession among bees of a bilobed glossa) to those of the Crabronidae, a paraphyletic group some of whose members are sister to the Anthophila (bees)<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Peters |first=Ralph S. |last2=Krogmann |first2=Lars |last3=Mayer |first3=Christoph |last4=Donath |first4=Alexander |last5=Gunkel |first5=Simon |last6=Meusemann |first6=Karen |last7=Kozlov |first7=Alexey |last8=Podsiadlowski |first8=Lars |last9=Petersen |first9=Malte |last10=Lanfear |first10=Robert |last11=Diez |first11=Patricia A. |last12=Heraty |first12=John |last13=Kjer |first13=Karl M. |last14=Klopfstein |first14=Seraina |last15=Meier |first15=Rudolf |date=April 2017 |title=Evolutionary History of the Hymenoptera |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0960982217300593 |journal=Current Biology |language=en |volume=27 |issue=7 |pages=1013–1018 |doi=10.1016/j.cub.2017.01.027}}</ref>. However, recent molecular studies have shown that the Melittidae (''sensu lato'') are actually sister to all other bees.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Danforth |first1=B.N. |last2=Sipes |first2=S. |last3=Fang |first3=J. |last4=Brady |first4=S.G. |year=2006 |title=The history of early bee diversification based on five genes plus morphology |journal=Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A |volume=103 |issue=41 |pages=15118–23 |pmid=17015826 |pmc=1586180 |doi=10.1073/pnas.0604033103 |bibcode=2006PNAS..10315118D |doi-access=free }}</ref>

=="Nocturnal" species== The Colletidae are one of the four bee families that contain some crepuscular species (of both the "vespertine" and "matinal" types). These bees, as is typical in such cases, have greatly enlarged ocelli. The other families with some crepuscular species are Andrenidae, Halictidae, and Apidae.

==Systematics== *Subfamily '''Colletinae''' — worldwide **Tribe Paracolletini ***''Brachyglossula'' ***''Callomelitta'' ***''Chrysocolletes'' ***''Eulonchopria'' ***''Glossurocolletes'' ***''Hesperocolletes'' ***''Leioproctus'' ***''Lonchopria'' ***''Lonchorhyncha'' ***''Neopasiphae'' ***''Niltonia'' ***''Paracolletes'' ***''Phenacolletes'' ***''Trichocolletes'' **Tribe Colletini ***''Colletes'' ***''Mourecotelles'' **Tribe Scraptrini ***''Scrapter'' *Subfamily '''Diphaglossinae''' — Americas **Tribe Caupolicanini ***''Caupolicana'' ***''Crawfordapis'' ***''Ptiloglossa'' **Tribe Diphaglossini ***''Cadeguala'' ***''Cadegualina'' ***''Diphaglossa'' **Tribe Dissoglottini ***''Mydrosoma'' ***''Mydrosomella'' ***''Ptiloglossidia'' *Subfamily '''Xeromelissinae''' — tropical Americas **''Chilicola'' **''Chilimelissa'' **''Geodiscelis'' **''Xenochilicola'' **''Xeromelissa'' [[file:Masked bee on Allium.jpg|thumb|''Hylaeus'' sp. on ''Allium'' flower.]] *Subfamily '''Hylaeinae''' — yellow-faced bees,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://eol.org/pages/2741222/overview |title=Encyclopedia of Life entry for Hylaeinae |access-date=3 December 2014}}</ref> worldwide **''Amphylaeus'' **''Hemirhiza'' **''Hylaeus'' **''Hyleoides'' **''Meroglossa'' **''Palaeorhiza'' **''Xenorhiza'' *Subfamily '''Euryglossinae''' — Australian **''Brachyhesma'' **''Callohesma'' **''Dasyhesma'' **''Euhesma'' **''Euryglossa'' **''Euryglossina'' **''Euryglossula'' **''Heterohesma'' **''Hyphesma'' **''Melittosmithia'' **''Pachyprosopis'' **''Sericogaster'' **''Stenohesma'' **''Tumidihesma'' **''Xanthesma''

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * [http://zoologie.umh.ac.be/hymenoptera/galerie/exploredb.aspx?parent=44 Image Gallery from Gembloux] * [https://www.discoverlife.org/20/q?search=Apoidea#Identification Online identification guides to Eastern North American Colletidae]

Category:Colletidae Category:Bee families Category:Taxa named by Amédée Louis Michel le Peletier