Ceratina

{{Short description|Genus of bees}} {{Automatic taxobox | fossil_range = {{fossil_range|37|0}} | image = Ceratina bifida female 1.jpg | image_caption = ''Ceratina bifida'' | taxon = Ceratina | authority = Latreille, 1802 | type_species = ''Ceratina cucurbitina'' | type_species_authority = (Rossi, 1792) | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = >200 species | synonyms = * ''Ceratine'' Illiger, 1807 * ''Dalyatina'' Terzo, 2007 * ''Megaceratina'' Hirashima, 1971 * ''Neoclavicera'' Roig Alsina, 2013 }}

The cosmopolitan bee genus '''''Ceratina''''', often referred to as '''small carpenter bees''',<ref>[http://www.cirrusimage.com/bees_small_carpenter.htm Small Carpenter Bee – ''Ceratina'' sp.] Red Planet Inc.</ref> is the sole lineage of the tribe '''Ceratinini''', and is not closely related to the more familiar carpenter bees. The genus presently contains over 300 species in 23 subgenera.<ref>[https://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20q?search=Ceratina DiscoverLife ''Ceratina'']</ref> They make nests in dead wood, stems, or pith. Although they were considered as mostly solitary in the past, there is growing evidence that many species are facultatively eusocial.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mikát |first1=Michael |last2=Fraňková |first2=Tereza |last3=Benda |first3=Daniel |last4=Straka |first4=Jakub |title=Evidence of sociality in European small Carpenter bees (''Ceratina'') |journal=Apidologie |date=2022 |volume=53 |issue=2 |article-number=18 |doi=10.1007/s13592-022-00931-8}}</ref>

''Ceratina'' are commonly dark, shining, even metallic bees, with fairly sparse body hairs and a weak scopa on the hind tibia. Most species have some yellow markings, most often restricted to the face, but often elsewhere on the body. They are very commonly mistaken for "sweat bees" (family Halictidae), due to their small size, metallic coloration, and some similarity in wing venation; they can be easily separated from halictids by the mouthparts (with a long glossa) and the hindwings (with a tiny jugal lobe).<ref name=fla>[http://entomology.ifas.ufl.edu/creatures/misc/bees/ceratina.htm Small carpenter bees, ''Ceratina'' spp.] Featured Creatures. University of Florida IFAS. Publication EENY-101, Revised June, 2014.</ref>

== Distribution == ''Ceratina'' have a global distribution and are found on every continent except Antarctica.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=Sless |first1=Trevor J.L. |last2=Branstetter |first2=Michael G. |last3=Mikát |first3=Michael |last4=Odanaka |first4=Katherine A. |last5=Tobin |first5=Kerrigan B. |last6=Rehan |first6=Sandra M. |title=Phylogenomics and biogeography of the small carpenter bees (Apidae: Xylocopinae: ''Ceratina'') |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1055790324001258 |journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution |language=en |volume=198 |article-number=108133 |doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2024.108133|publication-date=2024|doi-access=free |pmid=38897426 |bibcode=2024MolPE.19808133S }}</ref> The genus originated from the Afrotropics before spreading to Europe, Asia, Oceania, and the Americas.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Rehan |first1=Sandra M. |last2=Chapman |first2=Tom W. |last3=Craigie |first3=Andrew I. |last4=Richards |first4=Miriam H. |last5=Cooper |first5=Steven J.B. |last6=Schwarz |first6=Michael P. |title=Molecular phylogeny of the small carpenter bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Ceratinini) indicates early and rapid global dispersal |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1055790310000138 |journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution |language=en |volume=55 |issue=3 |pages=1042–1054 |doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2010.01.011|year=2010|pmid=20079861 |bibcode=2010MolPE..55.1042R |url-access=subscription }}</ref> New World ''Ceratina'' form a single monophyletic clade, suggesting a single colonization event for the Americas.<ref name=":0" /> Today, much of the species diversity remains in the Old World tropics, though Australasia contains noticeably few species.<ref name=":0" />

==Behaviour==

''Ceratina'' bees form nests inside dead plant stems with exposed ends, creating sequential chambers containing pollen balls upon which offspring feed.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Vanitha |first=K |date=2023-05-01 |title=Nesting Behaviour of Three Species of Ceratina Pollinating Cashew |url=https://indianentomology.org/index.php/ije/article/view/1167 |journal=Indian Journal of Entomology |pages=88–91 |doi=10.55446/IJE.2023.1167 |issn=0974-8172}}</ref> Chambers are divided using particles of the stem pith.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Buchmann |first=Stephen L |title=The Bees of the World. By Charles D Michener. Baltimore (Maryland): Johns Hopkins University Press . $135.00. xv + 913 p + 16 pl; ill.; indexes of terms and taxa. {{text|ISBN}}: 0– 8018–6133–0. 2000. |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/345210 |journal=The Quarterly Review of Biology |language=en |volume=77 |issue=3 |pages=334–335 |doi=10.1086/345210 |issn=0033-5770|year=2007|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

There can be multiple females in a single nest, where daughters or sisters may form very small, weakly eusocial colonies (where one bee forages and the other remains in the nest and lays eggs). In ''Ceratina calcarata'', division of labour can be seen between the mother and a "dwarf eldest daughter" who stays at the maternal nest to feed her siblings.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last1=Lawson |first1=Sarah P. |last2=Ciaccio |first2=Krista N. |last3=Rehan |first3=Sandra M. |title=Maternal manipulation of pollen provisions affects worker production in a small carpenter bee |url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s00265-016-2194-z |journal=Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology |language=en |volume=70 |issue=11 |pages=1891–1900 |doi=10.1007/s00265-016-2194-z |issn=0340-5443|year=2016|bibcode=2016BEcoS..70.1891L |url-access=subscription }}</ref> This "dwarf eldest daughter" is allocated a smaller pollen ball during development, contributing to her smaller size.<ref name=":2" /> This behaviour has prompted the study of ''C. calcarata'' in order to better understand the origins of social behaviour in social insects.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Huisken |first1=Jesse L |last2=Rehan |first2=Sandra M |date=2023-07-03 |title=Brain Gene Expression of Foraging Behavior and Social Environment in ''Ceratina calcarata'' |journal=Genome Biology and Evolution |language=en |volume=15 |issue=7 |article-number=evad117 |doi=10.1093/gbe/evad117 |issn=1759-6653 |pmc=10337991 |pmid=37364293}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Brenman-Suttner |first1=Dova B. |last2=Rehan |first2=Sandra M. |last3=Zayed |first3=Amro |date=2025-02-15 |title=Exploring the genetics of social behaviour in ''C. calcarata'' |journal=Scientific Reports |language=en |volume=15 |issue=1 |article-number=5580 |doi=10.1038/s41598-025-89870-9 |doi-access=free |pmid=39955334 |pmc=11830030 |bibcode=2025NatSR..15.5580B }}</ref>

In ''Ceratina nigrolabiata'', a Mediterranean species, males may guard the opening to the nest of a female they hope to mate with, and are often not the father of the brood within the nest; this is the first bee species in which male nest-guarding has been classified as a form of biparental care,<ref>{{cite journal |title=Polyandrous bee provides extended offspring care biparentally as an alternative to monandry based eusociality |bibcode=2019PNAS..116.6238M |last1=Mikát |first1=Michael |last2=Janošík |first2=Lukáš |last3=Černá |first3=Kateřina |last4=Matoušková |first4=Eva |last5=Hadrava |first5=Jiří |last6=Bureš |first6=Vít |last7=Straka |first7=Jakub |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |date=2019 |volume=116 |issue=13 |pages=6238–6243 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1810092116 |doi-access=free |pmid=30858313 |pmc=6442561 }}</ref> but males guarding nests and mating with females has been documented in other species (e.g., ''Macrotera portalis''<ref name="Danforth">{{cite journal |first=Bryan |last=Danforth |title=The morphology and behavior of dimorphic males in ''Macrotera portalis'' (Hymenoptera: Andrenidae) |journal=Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology |volume=29 |issue=4 |pages=235–247 |year=1991 |doi=10.1007/bf00163980|s2cid=37651908 }}</ref>).

A few species of ''Ceratina'' are exceptional among bees in that they are parthenogenetic, reproducing without males.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Daly|first=Howell V.|date=1966-11-01|title=Biological Studies on ''Ceratina dallatorreana'', an Alien Bee in California Which Reproduces by Parthenogenesis (Hymenoptera: Apoidea)|url=https://academic.oup.com/aesa/article/59/6/1138/98238|journal=Annals of the Entomological Society of America|language=en|volume=59|issue=6|pages=1138–1154|doi=10.1093/aesa/59.6.1138|issn=0013-8746|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Parthenogenetic reproduction was genetically confirmed in ''Ceratina dallatorreana'' and it is presumed also in ''Ceratina parvula'' and ''Ceratina dentipes''.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mikát |first1=Michael |last2=Straka |first2=Jakub |title=Genetic evidence for parthenogenesis in the small carpenter bee ''Ceratina dallatoreana'' (Apidae, Ceratinini) in its native distribution range |journal=Journal of Hymenoptera Research |date=2023 |volume=95 |pages=199–213 |doi=10.3897/jhr.95.87165 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2023JHymR..95..199M }}</ref>

[[File:Ceratina nest in fennel 1.jpg|Typical interior structure of a small carpenter bee's nest, here built into a dry stem of fennel. The stem cavity is partitioned into cells, each one containing pollen bread and one offspring. In the lowermost cell (on the right), the larva has already hatched. The other two cells still contain eggs.|thumb|right]] [[File:Ceratina chalcites female 3.jpg|thumb|right|''Ceratina chalcites'']] [[File:Ceratina-smaragdula,male,-face 2012-06-13-16.37.19-ZS-PMax (7376067034).jpg|thumb|right|''Ceratina smaragdula'']] [[File:Male Ceratina bee.webm|thumb|thumbtime=3|Male Ceratina bee foraging on yellow ironweed.]]

==Species and diversity== See: List of ''Ceratina'' species

The species in the genus ''Ceratina'' are spread across around 20+ subgenera:<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Sless |first1=Trevor J. L. |last2=Tucker |first2=Erika M. |last3=Rehan |first3=Sandra M. |date=2026-02-13 |title=''Scuticeratina'': A new subgenus of small carpenter bees (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Xylocopinae) from Indomalaya |url=https://zookeys.pensoft.net/article/148092/ |journal=ZooKeys |issue=1269 |pages=151–180 |doi=10.3897/zookeys.1269.148092 |doi-access=free |pmc=12924047 |pmid=41725731 |bibcode=2026ZooK.1269..151S }}</ref><ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Roig Alsina |first=Arturo |date=2013 |title=The genus ''Ceratina'' in Argentina: revision of the subgenus ''Neoclavicera'' subg. n. (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Xylocopinae) |url=http://revista.macn.gob.ar/ojs/index.php/RevMus/article/view/174 |journal=Revista del Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales |volume=15 |pages=121–143 |doi=10.22179/REVMACN.15.174|doi-access=free }}</ref> {{columns-list|colwidth=35em|1= * ''Ceratina (Calloceratina)'' Cockerell, 1924 * ''Ceratina (Catoceratina)'' Vecht, 1952 * ''Ceratina (Ceratina)'' Latreille, 1802 * ''Ceratina (Ceratinidia)'' Cockerell & Porter, 1899 * ''Ceratina (Ceratinula)'' Moure, 1941 * ''Ceratina (Chloroceratina)'' Cockerell, 1918 * ''Ceratina (Copoceratina)'' Terzo & Pauly, 2001 * ''Ceratina (Crewella)'' Cockerell, 1903 * ''Ceratina (Ctenoceratina)'' Daly & Moure, 1988 * ''Ceratina (Dalyatina)'' Terzo, 2007 * ''Ceratina (Euceratina)'' Hirashima, Moure & Daly, 1971 * ''Ceratina (Hirashima)'' Terzo & Pauly, 2001 * ''Ceratina (Lioceratina)'' Vecht, 1952 * ''Ceratina (Malgatina)'' Terzo & Pauly, 2001 * ''Ceratina (Megaceratina)'' Hirashima, 1971 * ''Ceratina (Neoceratina)'' Perkins, 1912 * ''Ceratina (Neoclavicera)'' Roig Alsina, 2013 * ''Ceratina (Pithitis)'' Klug, 1807 * ''Ceratina (Protopithitis)'' Hirashima, 1969 * ''Ceratina (Rhysoceratina)'' Michener, 2000 * ''Ceratina (Scuticeratina)'' Sless, Tucker & Rehan, 2026 * ''Ceratina (Simioceratina)'' Daly & Moure, 1988 * ''Ceratina (Xanthoceratina)'' Vecht, 1952 * ''Ceratina (Zadontomerus)'' Ashmead, 1899 }}

==References== {{Commons category}} {{Reflist}}

==External links== * [http://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20q?guide=Ceratina Guide to the ''Ceratina'' of Eastern North America.] USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center.

Category:Ceratina Category:Bee genera Category:Taxa named by Pierre André Latreille