The subfamily Xylocopinae (family Apidae) occurs worldwide, and includes the large Carpenter bees (tribe Xylocopini), the Small Carpenter bees (tribe Ceratinini), the allodapine bees (tribe Allodapini) and the relictual genus Manuelia (tribe Manueliini). Xylocopini comprises a single genus, Xylocopa, and occurs on all continents except Antarctica. Ceratinini also comprises a single genus, Ceratina, also with a world wide distribution, but Manueliini comprises only three species which are restricted to Chile and the Lakes Region in Argentina. The allodapines are restricted to sub-Saharan Africa, Madagascar, South East Asia and Australasia, with a rare genus Exoneuridia also occurring in montane regions of the Middle East.

The vast majority of Xylocopinae species make nests in dead wood, stems, or pith, and while many are solitary, many are also communal or primitively social, and there are some genera of allodapines which commonly form eusocial colonies.

References

• C. D. Michener (2007) The Bees of the World, 2nd Edition, Johns Hopkins University Press.

This bee-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e