Africa Wild

Cuckoo Bee Thyreus sp., possibly Thyreus pictus
Family: Apidae. Subfamily: Apinae. Tribe: Melectini

© BluTuna

© BluTuna
Garden in Johannesburg

Small Carpenter Bee Ceratina sp.
Family: Apidae. Subfamily: Xtylocopinae. Tribe: Ceratini

© BluTuna
Garden in Johannesburg

Subfamily Xylocopinae (Allodapine & Carpenter Bees)
The Xylocopinae are commonly known as carpenter bees, although other bees also bore into wood, such as Lithurgus. They are solitary, communal, subsocial or eusocial bees and nest in holes they bore into dead plant material; mostly wood and pithy stems. They have diverse biologies in that they are solitary, solitary with social tendencies, social or social parasites.
The subfamily Xylocopinae occurs worldwide. The subfamily is represented by 3 tribes in Southern Africa: Allodapini, Ceratini, Xylocopini.
Xylocopinae includes two superficially very different sorts of bees; species of the tribe Xylocopini are large to very large, robust euceriform to anthophoriform bees, whereas the other tribes consist of small, slender, andreniform to almost to almost hylaeiform bees. Except in parasitic species that lack it, the scopa is reduced and slender compared to that of most pollen-collecting Apinae.

Links: The Bees of the World. Charles Duncan Michener

Tribe Allodapini (Allodapine Bees)
The Allodapini are small carpenter bees, but are often called allodapine bees. Most Allodapini are rather slender andreniform to hylaeiform bees superficially resembling Ceratina except that the cuticle is soft and delicately sculptured. The pubescence is short and inconspicuous. The most obvious tribal character is the presence of only two submarginal cells (rarely one), the second usually not much over half as long as the first. The clypeus is rather flat. They are not strongly sclerotized and are black, reddish or yellowish.
This tribe comprises nine African genera; Allodape, Allodapula, Braunsapis, Hasinamelissa, Macrogalea and Compsomelissa, possibly all have both pollen collecting bees and social parasites. Effractapis, Eucondylops and Nasutapis are parasitic. The greatest diversity of allodapine bees is in Africa and Madagascar, but they also occur in Asia and Australia. The two submarginal cells in the forewing give a good first indication of an allodapine bee.

Biology
Nest in hollow stems. Unlike Xylocopa and Ceratina, they mostly do not have separate cells in their nests. Most species feed their larvae progressively. Arrangement of larvae and pupae within the nest varies according to genus. In Braunsapis and Allodape, the youngest larvae are at the bottom of the stem and the oldest above. Adults place food provisions on the venter of each larva. In Allodapula, the larvae are clustered together in a clump and feed from a common food mass. They may be simple subsocial species (each nest containing only a single bee with other adults rare) to nests that contain two or more adult females. Weak polymorphism is usually present. Workers do most of the foraging, while queens do not forage if workers are present. Workers usually do not mate.

Links: The Bees of the World. Charles Duncan Michener; Wasp Web

Genus Allodapula

Allodapula is a genus of bees in the family Apidae, subfamily Xylocopinae. They are similar in appearance, around 7 mm in length, with swarthy head and thorax, contrasting with the brown abdomen. Allodapula has the sides of the last metasomal tergum curved strongly under, and the dorsal surface gently concave. They are mostly black with a reddish metasoma; a few species are completely black. They are small and shiny and most Allodapula bee species have a dark head and thorax, with an orange abdomen.
The subgenera are difficult to identify, as they are based on male genitalia, and it is possibly easier to identify them to species.
Subgenus Allodapula (Allodapula) Cockerell: These are southern African and common. Apparently it comprises eight pollen collecting species and one social parasite, Allodapula guillarmodi .
Subgenus Allodapula (Allodapulodes) Michener: Allodapula (Allodapulodes) are more robust than Allodapula (Allodapula) and are endemic to the Cape Province of South Africa. There are five species.
Subgenus Allodapula (Dalloapula) Michener: Allodapula (Dalloapula) comprises two species, both of which are endemic to South Africa.

Distribution
South Africa, Tanzania, Zimbabwe. They are mostly southern African. After the removal of a number of former species into other genera, the genus as presently defined occurs only in Africa.

Habitat
Allodapula bees can be found in various habitats, such as grasslands, natural forests, wetlands, marshlands, open habitats, protected areas, woodlands, forest plantations and riparian areas.

Biology
The Allodapula bee feeds on polen and nectar.
Nest in hollow stems. Most species feed their larvae progressively. Arrangement of larvae and pupae within the nest varies according to genus. In Allodapula, the larvae are clustered together in a clump and feed from a common food mass.

Ecological Impact
Allodapula bees are a group of bee species that do not produce honey but are likely to be important pollinators of crops and wild plants. Different bee genera pollinate different plant species, although there is some overlap that acts as a buffer as bee populations wax and wane. For healthy ecosystems, including agro-ecosystems both diversity and abundance in the bee fauna is important. Allodapula are efficient pollinators of crops such as beans, cowpeas and simsim (sesame).

Links: A taxonomic study of African allodapine bees (Hymenoptera, Anthophoridae, Ceratinini). Michener, Charles Duncan; Mike Picker, Charles Griffiths, Alan Weaving: Field Guide to Insects of South Africa; Susan W. Nicolson: Water homeostasis in bees, with the emphasis on sociality

Carpenter Bee sp. Allodapula variegata
Family: Apidae. Subfamily: Xylocopinae. Tribe: Allodapini

© BluTuna
Garden in Johannesburg

Distribution
South Africa, Tanzania, Zimbabwe.

Biology
Subsocial. Excavates cavities in dry pithy and soft woody stems and herbaceous plants. There being no cells in nests. Several larvae are reared together and fed regurgitated pollen and nectar. Uses end of abdomen to block nest entrance against intruders.

Links: http://www.waspweb.org/Apoidea/Apidae/X ... iegata.htm
Susan W. Nicolson: Water homeostasis in bees, with the emphasis on sociality


© BluTuna

This Allodapula variegata has a water droplet at its mouth, which is referred to as "bubbling", or "tongue-lashing". The purpose of this is for water homeostasis or regulation. Manipulation of nectar or water on the tongue is extensively used by a variety of bees to increase evaporation for either nectar concentrating or cooling purposes.
After drinking the dilute nectar of Aloe arborescens, female allodapine bees, Allodapula variegata and Braunsapis sp., concentrate it on the tongue by repeated regurgitation, evaporation and re-ingestion presumably before mixing it with pollen and feeding it to their larvae. Oral evaporation of excess water compensates for less than ideal nectar concentrations.

Allopadine Bee Allodapula sp.
Family Apidae. Subfamily Xtylocopinae. Tribe Allodapini

© ExFmem
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, Northern Cape

Links:
http://www.waspweb.org/Apoidea/Apidae/X ... /index.htm

Unidentified

© BluTuna

© BluTuna

Tribe Xylocopini (Large Carpenter Bees)

This tribe comprises one Afrotropical genus, Xylocopa, commonly known as the large carpenter bees. They are all pollen collectors. They all separate their cells with partitions made of wood shavings. They are mostly large, among the biggest bees in Africa. These hairy bees are usually larger than the honey bee in size and their wings make a buzzing sound while flying. Xylocopa bees are a bee species that do not produce honey but are important pollinators of crops and wild plants. Male and female individuals have different coloration.

Xylocopa consists of about 469 species in 31–51 subgenera, depending on the classification that is followed. Xylocopa is distributed over most continents, predominantly in tropical and subtropical climates and occasionally in temperate areas. Most of the subgenera have restricted distributions that do not cross boundaries of the world’s main zoogeographical regions.

Biology
Carpenter bees bore tunnels into wood to construct a nest, which they provision with a mixture of pollen and nectar sculptured into an elongate shape. This acts as a food source for their developing larvae. A number of partitions (each containing a single larva) may be constructed within the tunnel, the partitions are made out of chewed wood.

Links:
WaspWeb; http://zoologie.umons.ac.be/hymenoptera/page.aspx?id=84
http://zoologie.umons.ac.be/hymenoptera ... 201983.pdf

Carpenter Bee Xylocopa caffra (Houtkapperby)
Family: Apidae. Subfamily: Xtylocopinae. Tribe: Xylocopini

© Mel
Female, Cape Town

© BluTuna
Female with white stripes, garden in Johannesburg

Description
The females are black with two white or yellow bands over the hind thorax and first abdominal segment respectively, while the males are uniform greenish yellow in colour. Females with white bands are associated with dry climatic conditions during larval development, but females of either colour, or colour grade, may emerge from the same brood. In the Western Cape all have yellow bands however.

Distribution
Angola, Botswana, Cameroun, Central African Republic, Comoro Islands, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Guinea, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa, Namibia, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Habitat
The species is at home in various habitat types, from moist coastal settings to dry savannah, fynbos, succulent karoo.

Biology
The territorial males patrol small areas around particular plants or flowers. The females are solitary nesters in Aloe or Agave stems, tree branches or timber. The nests are partitioned into various cells, separated by walls of glued wood residue.
As with other carpenter bees, the larvae are fed a mixture of pollen and nectar. The females have a mutualistic association with phoretic mites that are transported from nest to nest in an abdominal chamber, called the acarinarium. The mites feed on nest fungi that may otherwise infest the nectar and pollen provisions of the larvae.
They are parasitized by various biota including Anthrax, Coelopencyrtus, Dinogamasus, Hyperechia, Physocephala, Sennertia and Synhoria.


Links:
Wikipedia
http://www.waspweb.org/Apoidea/Apidae/X ... caffra.htm
http://zoologie.umons.ac.be/hymenoptera ... 201983.pdf