Higher Taxon APIFORMES

Museums

Regional Maps

Introduction

The bees, Anthophila, are represented in Australia by over 1600 species. Excluding the Formicidae, they are the largest group of aculeate Hymenoptera in Australia. Bees feed their larvae on pollen and nectar; sphecoids feed their larvae on insect or spider prey (Michener & Houston 1991). The term Anthophila has no formal taxonomic rank, but is used to describe the families within ‘Apoidea’ s.str. that contain bees.

The species found in Australia or its external territories (Lord Howe Is., Norfolk Is., Cocos (Keeling) Ils, Christmas Is., Ashmore Is., Cartier Is.) are treated in this Catalogue using the taxonomic arrangement of Michener (2000). Seven families of bees are recognised (Apidae, Andrenidae, Colletidae, Halictidae, Megachilidae, Melittidae and Stenotritidae), of which five are found in Australia. The two families not recorded from Australia are the Andrenidae, known from all continents except Australia; and the Melittidae, from the Holarctic and Afrotropical Regions (Hurd 1979).

Several changes at the family level have been made since the previous version of the Catalogue. The family Ctenoplectridae has been reduced to the tribe Ctenoplectrini in the family Apidae; and the familiy Anthophoridae has been included in the family Apidae. The subfamilies Nomadinae and Xylocopinae are now subfamilies within the family Apidae, but genera from the former subfamily Anthophorinae have been distributed between the tribes Anthophorini and Melectini (cleptoparasitic forms) of the subfamily Apinae.

Michener (1979) examined the distributions of bee families and found that they reach their greatest abundance and diversity in warm temperate, and contiguous desertic regions, as in the Mediterranean basin, the Californian area and in Australia. Cool temperate areas in Australia have markedly few bees; only 18 genera have been recorded from Tasmania. The bee fauna of the moist tropics varies considerably. The fauna of the Afrotropical Region is richer than the Oriental Region and the fauna becomes poorer eastwards towards New Guinea and the north-east of Australia.

Australia is unique in having about half its species, and the greatest diversity of genera, in the family Colletidae, and Australian bees are extraordinarily dependent of on a single family of plants, the Myrtaceae (Michener 1965; Armstrong 1979).

The history of taxonomic studies on Australian bees is summarised in Cardale (1993).

SOLITARY AND SOCIAL BEES

To the layman, the word 'bee' generally means the introduced honeybee, Apis mellifera Linnaeus, a species of the comparatively small family of social bees, the Apidae. Apis mellifera occurs over much of Australia, in beehives or feral, and is highly visible on crops, garden plants and native vegetation. The painful sting it can inflict is well known. The honeybee is of considerable economic importance and its honey is a part of our diet. There are very few species of truly social bees in Australia and the great majority of native species, including all species of our largest family, the Colletidae, are solitary.

All bees visit flowers for nectar and almost all females gather pollen as food for their larvae. One Australian species, Ctenoplectra australica Cockerell, probably uses floral oils. The females of cleptoparasitic species, however, lay their eggs on the provisions that their host (another species of bee) has gathered for her own larvae.

Solitary bees do not cooperate in nest construction or provisioning. Each female makes her own nest, constructs a cell, mass provisions it with enough pollen and nectar to feed a larva to maturity, lays an egg in the cell and then closes that cell before starting the next cell or nest. There is no cooperation with, or behavioural or morphological differentiation from, other females of the same species. There is usually no contact between generations as the larvae develop in closed cells and the mother normally dies before her offspring emerge.

The most highly social bees, on the other hand, live in colonies where numerous individuals and adults of more than one generation coexist. There is cooperation and division of labour among individuals in the construction of the nest and the feeding of the larvae; there is contact between adults and larvae as the larvae are fed progressively; and the egg-laying caste is physically differentiated from the other females.

Between the extremes of solitary and fully social behaviour, there are various intermediates (Michener 1974): solitary species which nest in aggregations without interaction in nest building; communal species with several females sharing a nest but with each female constructing, provisioning and laying eggs in her own cells; communal species that cooperate in construction and provisioning of cells but each female has fully developed ovaries; and communal species in which there are females that do not lay eggs and differ from the egg-layers only in the lack of ovarian development.

A colony is described as subsocial when it consists of one female who protects and feeds her immature offspring before they reach maturity. In this case, there is no cooperation with or division of labour among the adults. Colonies of primitively social bees do have cooperation between, and division of labour among, the adults. Contact between two or more generations of adults occurs, but the adults are not physically differentiated.

BIOLOGICAL STUDIES

Studies of bees have been hampered by problems associated with the identification of individuals to species. Very few Australian bees have been studied in the laboratory and, for most groups, field observations on biology are fragmentary. The best source of information is Michener (1965) and the most important references are listed under the family headings. McGinley (1989) catalogued references to immature bees of the world.

Many of the solitary bees build nests in the soil, some in rotten wood. Others use pre-existing holes or hollows in wood or the soil, dig out the centre of a pithy stem, or re-use a mud-nest built by other Hymenoptera. Bees nesting in wood, rather than soil, are more likely to be successful migrants to another country; two such species of Australian Colletidae, Euryglossina (Euryglossina) proctotrypoides Cockerell and Hyleoides concinna (Fabricius) have become established in New Zealand (Donovan 1980, 1983; Fordham 1989).

The discovery of polymorphic males in some communally nesting Halictidae (Houston 1970) and work on the relatedness of nest-sharers in Allodapini (Schwarz 1988) have led to continuing research on the development of insect social behaviour (Knerer & Schwarz 1976, 1978; Knerer 1980; Kukuk & Schwarz 1987, 1988; Sugden 1989; Kukuk & Crozier 1990; O'Keefe & Schwarz 1990, Schwarz & Blows 1991, Schwarz & O'Keefe 1991).

FLOWER RELATIONSHIPS AND POLLINATION

Bees obtain their food (pollen, nectar, or in a few groups, oil), from the flowers of angiosperms. In turn, many plants depend on bees to effect pollination. Polylectic species gather pollen from a wide range of plants while oligolectic species are restricted to a few species of related flowers. Many species of Australian bees, especially in the Colletidae, appear to be oligolectic on the family Myrtaceae. If pollen is carried internally, as by Hylaeinae, Euryglossinae and at least one species of Colletinae (Houston 1981), it is difficult to confirm oligolecty.

Michener (1965) and Armstrong (1979) provide the most comprehensive information on the flower visiting records of Australian native bees but Australian flower visiting records for A. mellifera are scattered through the botanical and agricultural literature (e.g. Blake & Roff 1958; Collins & Rebelo 1987; Goebel 1984; Vithanage & Ironside 1986; Ramsey 1988; Heard et al. 1990). Many records of pollination by native bees do not identify the bees to species (e.g. Bernhardt 1986, 1987; Dafni & Calder 1987; Beardsell et al. 1986; Anderson & Symon 1988; House 1989; Gross 1992), so these records could not be included in the Catalogue.

BEES AND HUMANS

The majority of native bees are seldom noticed even though their nests may be conspicuous, especially those of species that nest in aggregations. Many bees nest in pre-existing hollows or burrows and nests, e.g. those of Megachilidae (Rayment 1935), may be found also in many locations around houses. However, they are seldom recorded as pests.

Xylocopini, or carpenter bees, excavate burrows in sound wood but no Australian species have been recorded as pests of structural timber. Blue-banded bees (Amegilla (Zonamegilla) spp.) are sometimes found nesting in adobe walls or in mortar between bricks or stones in house walls (Rayment 1944; Cardale 1968) and possibly cause damage to aboriginal rock art sites (Naumann & Watson 1987; Wylie et al. 1987). In the wild, both native and introduced honeybees build nests in hollow trees, in hollows among rocks and sometimes in cavities in houses. Native bees have been known to collect fresh paint or putty from buildings for use in their nests (Michener 1981b; Wagner & Dollin 1982).

Worldwide, Apidae are managed by humans for honey production and pollination of plants. Australian Aboriginals have been recorded eating the larvae of the large, solitary, soil-nesting anthophorid, Amegilla dawsoni (Douglas 1980) and use the honey of the stingless honeybees, Trigona (Heterotrigona) spp. and Austroplebeia spp. (McKenzie 1975; Dollin & Dollin 1983, 1986). The Australian native bees otherwise have been largely neglected but there is now interest in their potential as pollinators (Heard 1988; Velthuis 1990).

The honeybee, A. mellifera, was introduced into Australia early in the 19th Century. The honey industry in Australia produces significant domestic and export income and, in addition, A. mellifera is the most important insect pollinator of crop plants as well as a very significant pollinator of native plants. A. mellifera has been suspected of deleterious effects. It may 'rob' native flowers without pollinating them or compete with native bees for floral resources (Douglas 1980; Pyke 1983; Pyke & Balzer 1985; Wapshere 1988; Sugden & Pyke 1991). The apiarists' point of view has been put by Winner (1983), Burking & Kessell (1987) and in papers, for example, Rhodes (1988).

Other species of bees were brought into Australia in the 1930s to pollinate specific introduced crops. Bumblebees were brought into Australia from England (Young 1967). They were also introduced from New Zealand where they had been established for the same purpose. The first introductions into Australia failed, but in 1992 one species (Bombus terrestris (Linnaeus)) was found to be established. The alfalfa leafcutting bee, Megachile rotundata (Fabricius), was released in South Australia in 1987 in an attempt to improve the production of lucerne seed (Anon. 1987). Its establishment and success have yet to be assessed. Pollination of lucerne by honeybees and native bees was studied by Doull (1961) and Bray (1973).

Females of the larger, solitary, native bees can sting humans. These bees are not aggressive in defence of their nests and such stings are rare and usually involve the bee being trapped in clothing. Recorded cases of allergic reaction to stings from native bees are few (Morris et. al 1988).

Apis mellifera is aggressive in defence of its colony and is relatively more likely to sting people. Pain and swelling at the site of the sting are a normal reaction. Medical treatment may be necessary if a person is stung by a large number of bees or on certain areas of the body, such as near the eyes or on the tongue. Serious medical problems may arise in individuals who have become sensitised to honeybee venoms: they may suffer a severe allergic reaction to subsequent stings (Southcott 1988). The risk from bee stings is generally exaggerated (Schmidt 1986).

FOSSIL BEES

Houston (1987) described the fossil brood cells of Stenotritidae from Australia. Publications on fossil bees described from other parts of the world include Zeuner & Manning (1976), Wille (1977), Burnham (1979), Michener & Grimaldi (1988a, 1988b) and Rasnitsyn & Michener (1991).

A full list of names designated as nomina nuda in the Catalogue is given by Cardale (1993).

Detailed information on the introduction of honeybees to Australia is given by Barrett (1995, 1999); discussion on the possible harmful effects of feral honeybees has continued (Oldroyd 1998, Horskins & Turner 1999). Williams and Adam (1997) studied interactions between Apis mellifera and Trigona carbonaria, and the effects of the establishment of Bombus terrestris have been considered by Hingston and McQuillan (1998a, 1998b, 1999) and Goulson (2000). An African megachilid, Afranthidium repetitum Schulz, has become established in southern Queensland, Apis cerana Fabricius has been found on Torres Strait islands and a nest was eradicated in Darwin (Weatherhead 1999).

 

Excluded Taxa

Misidentifications

COLLETIDAE: Leioproctus (Hoplocolletes) ventralis (Friese, 1924)

COLLETIDAE: Leioproctus (Leioproctus) maorium (Cockerell, 1913)

COLLETIDAE: Leioproctus (Nesocolletes) waterhousei Cockerell, 1905

COLLETIDAE: Prosopis volatilis Smith, 1879

ANTHOPHORIDAE: Thyreus gemmata Cockerell, 1911

ANTHOPHORIDAE: Thyreus novaehollandiae (Lepeletier, 1841)

APIDAE: Trigona (Heterotrigona) canifrons Smith, 1857

ANTHOPHORIDAE: Xylocopa bryorum (Fabricius, 1775)

ANTHOPHORIDAE: Xylocopa muscaria (Fabricius, 1775)

ANTHOPHORIDAE: Xylocopa simillima Smith, 1854

 

General References

Alexander, B.A. 1992. An exploratory analysis of cladistic relationships within the superfamily Apoidea, with special reference to sphecid wasps (Hymenoptera). Journal of Hymenoptera Research 1: 25-61 [Date published 31/12/1992]

Anderson, G.J. & Symon, D. 1988. Insect foragers on Solanum flowers in Australia. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Gardens 75: 842-852 [Date published 31/12/1988]

Anon. 1987. Leafcutter bees released in S.A. Australasian Beekeeper 88: 175 [Date published 31/03/1987]

Armstrong, J.A. 1979. Biotic pollination mechanisms in the Australian flora—a review. New Zealand Journal of Botany 17: 467-508 [Date published 31/12/1979]

Barrett, P. 1995. The Immigrant Bees 1788–1898: A Cyclopaedia on the Introduction of European Honey Bees into Australia and New Zealand. Springwood : Peter Barrett 186 pp.

Barrett, P. 1999. The Immigrant Bees 1788 to 1898. Volume 2. An update on the Introduction of European Honeybees into Australia and New Zealand. Springwood, NSW : P. Barrett 164 pp.

Beardsell, D.V., Clements, M.A., Hutchinson, J.F. & Williams, E.G. 1986. Pollination of Diuris maculata R.Br. (Orchidaceae) by floral mimicry of the native legumes Daviesia spp. and Pultenaea scabra R.Br. Australian Journal of Botany 34: 165-173 [Date published 31/12/1986]

Bernhardt, P. 1986. Bee-pollination in Hibbertia fasciculata (Dilleniaceae). Plant Systematics and Evolution 152: 231-241 [Date published 31/12/1986]

Bernhardt, P. 1987. A comparison of the diversity, density, and foraging behavior of bees and wasps on Australian Acacia. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Gardens 74: 42-50 [Date published 31/12/1987]

Blake, S.T. & Roff, C. 1958. The Honey Flora of South-eastern Queensland. Brisbane : Dept. Agriculture & Stock 199 pp. [Date published 31/12/1958]

Bray, R.A. 1973. Characteristics of some bees of the family Megachilidae in southeast Queensland and their potential as lucerne pollinators. Journal of the Australian Entomological Society 12: 99-102 [Date published 31/12/1973]

Brothers, D.J. 1975. Phylogeny and classification of the aculeate Hymenoptera, with special reference to the Mutillidae. University of Kansas Science Bulletin 50: 483-648 [Date published 31/12/1975]

Burking, R.C. & Kessell, A.C. 1987. The effects of the diminishing flora resource on the Western Australian beekeeping industry. Australasian Beekeeper 88: 184-188 [Date published 31/12/1987]

Burnham, L. 1979. Survey of social insects in the fossil record. Psyche (Cambridge) 85: 85-133 [Date published 31/12/1979]

Cane, J.H. 1979. The hind tibiotarsal and tibial spur articulations in bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea). Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 52: 123-137 [Date published 31/12/1979]

Cardale, J. 1968. Nests and nesting behaviour of Amegilla (Amegilla) pulchra (Smith) (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Anthophorinae). Australian Journal of Zoology 16: 689-707 [Date published 31/12/1968]

Cardale, J.C. in Houston, W.W.K. & Maynard, G.V. (eds) 1993. Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Hymenoptera: Apoidea. Canberra : AGPS Vol. 10 x, 406 pp.

Chapman, A.D. 1991. Australian Plant Name Index. Australian Flora and Fauna Series Nos 12–15. Canberra : AGPS xxii 3055 pp. [Date published 12/31/1991]

Cockerell, T.D.A. 1930. The bees of Australia. The Australian Zoologist 6: 137-156, 205-236 [Date published 31/12/1930]

Cockerell, T.D.A. 1931. The bees of Australia. The Australian Zoologist 7: 34-54 [Date published 31/12/1931]

Cockerell, T.D.A. 1932. The bees of Australia. The Australian Zoologist 7: 206-218 [Date published 31/12/1932]

Cockerell, T.D.A. 1933. The bees of Australia. The Australian Zoologist 7: 291-324 [Date published 31/12/1933]

Cockerell, T.D.A. 1934. The bees of Australia. The Australian Zoologist 8: 2-38 [Date published 31/12/1934]

Collins, B.G. & Rebelo, T. 1987. Pollination biology of the Proteaceae in Australia and southern Africa. Australian Journal of Ecology 12: 387-421 [Date published 31/12/1987]

Cranston, P.S. & Naumann, I.D. 1991. Biogeography. pp. 180-197 in CSIRO (ed.). The Insects of Australia. A textbook for students and research workers. Melbourne : Melbourne University Press Vol. 2 pp. 543-1137.

Dafni, A. & Calder, D.M. 1987. Pollination by deceit and floral mimesis in Thelymitra antennifera (Orchidaceae). Plant Systematics and Evolution 158: 11-22 [Date published 31/12/1987]

Dalla Torre, K.W. 1896. Catalogus Hymenopterorum Hucusque Descriptorum Systematicus et Synonymicus. Apidae (Anthophila). Lipsiae : G. Engelmann Vol. x 643 pp. [Date published 31/12/1896]

De Lello, E. 1971a. Adnexal glands of the sting apparatus of bees: anatomy and histology, I (Hymenoptera: Colletidae and Andrenidae). Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 44: 5-13 [Date published 31/12/1971]

De Lello, E. 1971b. Adnexal glands of the sting apparatus of bees: anatomy and histology, II (Hymenoptera: Halictidae). Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 44: 14-20 [Date published 31/12/1971]

Dollin, A., Batley, M., Robinson, M. & Faulkner, B. 2000. Native Bees of the Sydney Region. A Field Guide. North Richmond, NSW : Australian Native Bee Research Centre 70 pp.

Dollin, A. & Dollin, L. 1986. Tracing aboriginal apiculture of Australian native bees in the far north-west. Australasian Beekeeper 88: 118-122 [Date published 31/12/1986]

Dollin, L. & Dollin, A. 1983. Honeymooning in far north Queensland with Australian native bees. Australasian Beekeeper 85: 104-107 [Date published 31/12/1983]

Donovan, B.J. 1980. Interactions between native and introduced bees in New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Ecology 3: 104-116 [Date published 31/12/1980]

Donovan, B.J. 1983. Occurrence of the Australian bee Hyleoides concinna (Hymenoptera: Colletidae) in New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Zoology 10: 345-348 [Date published 31/12/1983]

Douglas, A.M. 1980. Our Dying Fauna. A personal perspective on a changing environment. Perth : Creative Research, in association with Biological Services 170 pp.

Doull, K.M. 1961. Insect problems of lucerne seed production in South Australia. Journal of the Australian Institute of Agricultural Science 27: 11-15 [Date published 31/12/1961]

Dunn, K.J. 1993. Exotic Asian bee detected in Torres Strait. Bee Briefs 9(2/3): 18-19

Engel, M. 2005. Family-Group Names for Bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea). American Museum Novitates 3476: 1-33

Erickson, R. 1951. Orchids of the West. Perth : Paterson Brokensha 109 pp. [Date published 31/12/1951]

Erickson, R. 1965. Orchids of the West. Perth : Paterson Brokensha 107 pp. [Date published 31/12/1965]

Exley, E.M. 1968. Revision of the genus Euryglossina Cockerell (Apoidea: Colletidae). Australian Journal of Zoology 16: 915-1020 [Date published 31/12/1968]

Exley, E.M. 1976a. New species and records of Pachyprosopis Perkins (Apoidea: Colletidae: Euryglossinae). Journal of the Australian Entomological Society 14: 399-407 [Date published 31/12/1976]

Exley, E.M. 1976b. Revision of the subgenus Euryglossa Smith (Apoidea: Colletidae: Euryglossinae). Australian Journal of Zoology Supplementary Series 41: 1-72 [Date published 31/12/1976]

Fabricius, J.C. 1775. Systema Entomologiae, sistens Insectorum Classes, Ordines, Genera, Species, adiectis Synonymis, Locis, Descriptionibus, Observationibus. Flensburgi et Lipsiae [= Flensburg & Leipzig] : Kortii xxxii 832 pp. [Date published 17 April]

Fordham, R.A. 1989. Further New Zealand records of the new immigrant Australian bee Hyleoides concinna (Hymenoptera: Colletidae; Hylaeinae). New Zealand Entomologist 12: 65-67 [Date published 31/12/1989]

Froggatt, W.W. 1892. Catalogue of the described Hymenoptera of Australia. Part II. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 2 7: 205-248 [Date published 31/12/1892]

Goebel, R. 1984. Honey bees for pollination. Queensland Agricultural Journal 110: 317-321 [Date published 31/12/1984]

Goulson, D. 2000. Do exotic bees pose an environmental threat? News Bulletin, Entomological Society of Queensland 28(3): 54-57 [Date published May 2000]

Gross, C.L. 1992. Floral traits and pollinator constancy: foraging by native bees among three sympatric legumes. Australian Journal of Ecology 17: 67-74 [Date published 31/12/1992]

Hacker, H. 1921. Catalogue of Australian bees. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 7: 99-163 [Date published 31/12/1921]

Heard, T.A. 1988. Propagation of hives of Trigona carbonaria Smith (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Journal of the Australian Entomological Society 27: 303-304 [Date published 31/12/1988]

Heard, T.A., Vithanage, V. & Chacko, E.K. 1990. Pollination biology of cashew in the Northern Territory of Australia. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 41: 1101-1114 [Date published 31/12/1990]

Hingston, A.B. & McQuillan, P.B. 1998. Does the recently introduced bumblebee Bombus terrestris (Apidae) threaten Australian ecosystems? Australian Journal of Ecology 23(6): 539-549 [Date published December]

Hingston, A.B. & McQuillan, P.B. 1998. Nectar robbing in Epacris impressa (Epacridaceae) by the recently introduced bumblebee Bombus terrestris (Apidae) in Tasmania. Victorian Naturalist 115(4): 116-119

Hingston, A.B. & McQuillan, P.B. 1999. Displacement of Tasmanian native megachilid bees by the recently introduced bumblebee Bombus terrestris (Linnaeus, 1758) (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Australian Journal of Zoology 47: 59-65

Horskins, K. & Turner, V.B. 1999. Resource use and foraging patterns of honeybees, Apis mellifera, and native insects on flowers of Eucalyptus costata. Australian Journal of Ecology 24(3): 221-227

House, S.M. 1989. Pollen movement to flowering canopies of pistillate individuals of three rain forest tree species in tropical Australia. Australian Journal of Ecology 14: 77-94 [Date published 31/12/1989]

Houston, T.F. 1969. The systematics and biology of Australian hylaeine bees (Hymenoptera: Colletidae). Unpubl. PhD Thesis. Brisbane : University of Queensland. 423 pp.

Houston, T.F. 1970. Discovery of an apparent male soldier caste in a nest of a halictine bee (Hymenoptera: Halictidae), with notes on the nest. Australian Journal of Zoology 18: 345-351 [Date published 31/12/1970]

Houston, T.F. 1981. Alimentary transport of pollen in a paracolletine bee (Hymenoptera: Colletidae). Australian Entomological Magazine 8: 57-59 [Date published 31/12/1981]

Houston, T.F. 1987. Fossil brood cells of stenotritid bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) from the Pleistocene of South Australia. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia 111: 93-97 [Date published 31/12/1987]

Hurd, P.D. 1979. Superfamily Apoidea. pp. 1741-2209 in Krombein, K.V., Hurd, P.D., Smith, D.R. & Burks, B.O. (eds). Catalog of Hymenoptera in America North of Mexico. Washington, D.C. : Smithsonian Institute Press Vol. 2 1199-2209 pp.

ICZN 1985. International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, Third Edition, adopted by the XX General Assembly of the International Union of Biological Sciences. London : International Trust for Zoological Nomenclature xx 338 pp.

King, J. 1986. The systematics of some Australian Megachilidae (Hymenoptera: Apoidea). Unpubl. PhD Thesis. Brisbane : Univ. of Queensland. 439 pp.

King, J. 1991. Studies on the genus Austrochile Michener N. Stat. in Australia (Megachilidae: Hymenoptera). Unpubl. MSc Thesis. Brisbane : Univ. of Queensland. 135 pp.

Knerer, G. 1980. Evolution of halictine castes. Naturwissenschaften 67: 133-135 [Date published 31/12/1980]

Knerer, G. & Schwarz, M. 1976. Halictine social evolution: the Australian enigma. Science (Washington, D.C.) 194: 445-448 [Date published 31/12/1976]

Knerer, G. & Schwarz, M. 1978. Beobachtungen an australischen Furchenbienen (Hymenopteren; Halictinae). Zoologischer Anzeiger 200: 321-333 [Date published 31/12/1978]

Kukuk, P.F. & Crozier, R.H. 1990. Trophallaxis in a communal halictine bee Lasioglossum (Chilalictus) erythrurum (Hymenoptera: Halictidae). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 87: 5402-5404 [Date published 31/12/1990]

Kukuk, P.F. & Schwarz, M. 1987. Intranest behavior of the communal sweat bee Lasioglossum (Chilalictus) erythrurum (Hymenoptera: Halictidae). Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 60: 58-64 [Date published 31/12/1987]

Kukuk, P.F. & Schwarz, M. 1988. Macrocephalic male bees as functional reproductives and probable guards. Pan-Pacific Entomologist 64: 131-137 [Date published 31/12/1988]

Lanham, U.N. 1980. Evolutionary origin of bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea). Journal of the New York Entomological Society 88: 199-209 [Date published 31/12/1980]

Lomholdt, O. 1982. On the origin of the bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae, Sphecidae). Entomologica Scandinavica 13: 185-190 [Date published 31/12/1982]

Maynard, G.V. 1992. Systematic Studies on Australian Leioproctus Smith (Hymenoptera: Colletidae). Unpubl. PhD Thesis. Brisbane : Univ. of Queensland. 429 pp.

McGinley, R.J. 1980. Glossal morphology of the Colletidae and recognition of the Stenotritidae at the family level (Hymenoptera: Apoidea). Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 53: 539-552 [Date published 31/12/1980]

McGinley, R.J. 1989. A catalog and review of immature Apoidea (Hymenoptera). Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology 494: 1-24 [Date published 31/12/1989]

McKenzie, E. 1975. Growing up with aborigines. Queensland Naturalist 21: 46-51 [Date published 31/12/1975]

Michener, C.D. 1965. A classification of the bees of the Australian and South Pacific regions. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 130: 1-362 [Date published 31/12/1965]

Michener, C.D. 1974. The Social Behaviour of the Bees. A comparative study. Cambridge : Belknap Press of Harvard University Press 404 pp. [Date published 31/12/1974]

Michener, C.D. 1979. Biogeography of the bees. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Gardens 66: 277-347 [Date published 31/12/1979]

Michener, C.D. 1981a. Comparative morphology of the middle coxae of Apoidea. Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 54: 319-326 [Date published 31/12/1981]

Michener, C.D. 1981b. Paint for nest construction. Bee World 62: 34 [Date published 31/12/1981]

Michener, C.D. 1985. A comparative study of the mentum and lorum of bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea). Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 57: 705-714 [Date published 31/12/1985]

Michener, C.D. 1986. Family-group names among bees. Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 59: 219-234 [Date published 31/12/1986]

Michener, C.D. 1991. Case 2535. Proposed precedence of some bee family-group names (Insecta, Hymenoptera): names based on Colletes Latreille, 1802, on Paracolletes Smith, 1853, on Halictus Latreille, 1804, on Anthidium Fabricius, 1804 and on Anthophora Latreille, 1803 to have precedence over some senior names. Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature 48: 227-235 [Date published 31/12/1991]

Michener, C.D. 2000. The Bees of the World. Baltimore, Maryland : Johns Hopkins University Press 913 pp.

Michener, C.D. & Brooks, R.W. 1984. A comparative study of the glossae of bees (Apoidea). Contributions of the American Entomological Institute 22: 1-73 [Date published 31/12/1984]

Michener, C.D. & Fraser, A. 1978. A comparative anatomical study of mandibular structure in bees. University of Kansas Science Bulletin 51: 463-482 [Date published 31/12/1978]

Michener, C.D. & Greenberg, L. 1980. Ctenoplectridae and the origin of long-tongued bees. Journal of the Linnean Society of London, Zoology 69: 183-203 [Date published 31/12/1980]

Michener, C.D. & Grimaldi, D.A. 1988a. The oldest fossil bee: apoid history, evolutionary stasis, and antiquity of social behavior. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 85: 6424-6426 [Date published 31/12/1988]

Michener, C.D. & Grimaldi, D.A. 1988b. A Trigona from Late Cretaceous amber of New Jersey (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Meliponinae). American Museum Novitates 2917: 1-10 [Date published 31/12/1988]

Michener, C.D. & Houston, T.F. 1991. Apoidea. pp. 993-1000 in CSIRO (ed.). The Insects of Australia. A textbook for students and research workers. Melbourne : Melbourne University Press Vol. 2 pp. 543-1137.

Morris, B., Southcott, R.V. & Gale, A.E. 1988. Effects of stings of Australian native bees. Medical Journal of Australia 149: 707-709 [Date published 31/12/1988]

Naumann, I.D. & Watson, J.A.L. 1987. Appendix 1. Wasps and bees (Hymenoptera) on rock faces at Koolburra. Rock Art Research 4: 17-28 [Date published 31/12/1987]

O'Keefe, K.J. & Schwarz, M.P. 1990. Pheromones are implicated in reproductive differentiation in a primitively social bee. Naturwissenschaften 77: 83-86 [Date published 31/12/1990]

Oldroyd, B.P. 1998. Controlling feral honey bee, Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae), populations in Australia : methodologies and costs. Australian Journal of Entomology 37(2): 97-100

Pyke, G. 1983. Australian Museum Report. Section 13. Page 45. Management of honeybees in Kosciusko National Park. Australasian Beekeeper 84: 249-251 [Date published 31/12/1983]

Pyke, G.H. & Balzer, L. 1985. The effects of the introduced honeybee (Apis mellifera) on Australian native bees. A report prepared for NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service. Occasional Papers of the New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service 7: 1-48 [Date published 31/12/1985]

Ramsey, M.W. 1988. Differences in pollinator effectiveness of birds and insects visiting Banksia menziesii (Proteaceae). Oecologia (Berlin) 76: 119-124 [Date published 31/12/1988]

Rasnitsyn, A.P. & Michener, C.D. 1991. Miocene fossil bumble bee from the Soviet Far East with comments on the chronology and distribution of fossil bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Annals of the Entomological Society of America 84: 583-589 [Date published 31/12/1991]

Rayment, T. 1929. The cuckoo-bees, Coelioxys frogatti Cockerell. Victorian Naturalist 46: 58-61 [Date published 31/12/1929]

Rayment, T. 1935. A Cluster of Bees. Sixty essays on the life-histories of Australian bees, with specific descriptions of over 100 new species, and an introduction by Professor E.F. Phillips, D.Ph., Cornell University, U.S.A. Sydney : Endeavour Press. 752 pp.

Rayment, T. 1944. A critical revision of species in the zonata group of Anthophora by new characters (Part I). Treubia (Japanese edition) 1: 1-30 [Date published 31/12/1944: dated 1942, actual date of issue 1944]

Rayment, T. 1946. New bees and wasps—Part III. Another new Exoneura; also notes on the biology of E. hamulata. Victorian Naturalist 63: 63-68 [Date published 31/12/1946]

Rayment, T. 1947. A critical revision of species in the zonata group of Anthophora by new characters (Part II). Treubia 19: 46-73 [Date published 31/12/1947]

Rayment, T. 1949. New bees and wasps—Part IX. Four undescribed species of Exoneura, with notes on their collection, and description of new parasites discovered on the genus. Victorian Naturalist 65: 247-254 [Date published 31/12/1949]

Rayment, T. 1951. Biology of the reed-bees. With descriptions of three new species and two allotypes of Exoneura. The Australian Zoologist 11: 285-313 [Date published 31/12/1951]

Rayment, T. 1954. Incidence of acarid mites on the biology of bees. The Australian Zoologist 12: 26-38

Rayment, T. 1955. Dimorphism and parthenogenesis in halictine bees. The Australian Zoologist 12: 142-153 [Date published 31/12/1955]

Rhodes, J.W. (ed.) 1988. Bee Keeping in the Year 2000. Second Australian and International Beekeeping Congress. Surfers Paradise, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. July 21–26, 1988. Brisbane : Dept Primary Industries 288 pp.

Rozen, J.G. 1977. The ethology and systematic relationships of fideliine bees, including a description of the mature larva of Parafidelia (Hymenoptera, Apoidea). American Museum Novitates 2637: 1-15 [Date published 31/12/1977]

Sandhouse, G.A. 1943. The type species of the genera and subgenera of bees. Proceedings of the United States National Museum 92(3156): 519-619 [Date published 31/12/1943]

Schmidt, J.O. 1986. Allergy to Hymenoptera venoms. pp. 509-546 in Piek, T. (ed.). Venoms of the Hymenoptera. Biochemical, Pharmacological and Behavioural Aspects. London : Academic Press. [Date published 31/12/1986]

Schwarz, M.P. 1988. Local resource enhancement and sex ratios in a primitively social bee. Nature (London) 331: 346-348 [Date published 31/12/1988]

Schwarz, M.P. & Blows, M.W. 1991. Kin association during nest founding in the bee Exoneura bicolor: active discrimination, philopatry and familiar landmarks. Psyche (Cambridge) 98: 241-250 [Date published 31/12/1991]

Schwarz, M.P. & O'Keefe, K.J. 1991. Cooperative nesting and ovarian development in females of the predominantly social bee Exoneura bicolor Smith (Hymenoptera: Anthophoridae) after forced solitary eclosion. Journal of the Australian Entomological Society 30: 251-255 [Date published 31/12/1991]

Smith, F. 1853. Catalogue of Hymenopterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum. Part I. Andrenidae and Apidae. London : British Museum 197 pp. [Date published 31/12/1853]

Smith, F. 1854. Catalogue of Hymenopterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum. Part II. Apidae. London : British Museum pp. 199-465. [Date published 31/12/1854]

Smith, F. 1879. Descriptions of New Species of Hymenoptera in the Collection of the British Museum. London : British Museum xxi 240 pp. [Date published 31/12/1879]

Southcott, R.V. 1988. Some harmful Australian insects. Medical Journal of Australia 149: 656-662 [Date published 31/12/1988]

Sugden, E.A. 1989. A semi-natural, manipular observation nest for Exoneura spp. and other allodapine bees (Hymenoptera: Anthophoridae). Pan-Pacific Entomologist 65: 17-24 [Date published 31/12/1989]

Sugden, E.A. & Pyke, G.H. 1991. Effects of honey bees on colonies of Exoneura asimillima, an Australian native bee. Australian Journal of Ecology 16: 171-181 [Date published 31/12/1991]

Velthuis, H.H.W. 1990. The biology and the economic value of the stingless bees, compared to the honeybees. Apiacta 25: 68-74 [Date published 31/12/1990]

Vithanage, V. & Ironside, D.A. 1986. The insect pollinators of Macadamia and their relative importance. Journal of the Australian Institute of Agricultural Science 52: 155-160 [Date published 31/12/1986]

Wagner, A. & Dollin, L. 1982. North Queensland's native bees—the little Aussie battlers. Australasian Beekeeper 84: 70-72 [Date published 31/12/1982]

Wapshere, A.J. 1988. Hypotheses concerning the effects of honey bees on native fauna and flora in national parks and the possibility of experimental confirmation. pp. 166-168 in Rhodes, J.W. (ed.). Bee Keeping in the Year 2000. Second Australian and International Beekeeping Congress. Surfers Paradise, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. July 21–26, 1988. Brisbane : Dept Primary Industries 288 pp.

Weatherhead, T. 1999. Update on the Darwin incursion of the Asian honeybee Apis cerana as at 3rd December 1998. Australasian Beekeeper 100(7): 272-273

Welch, D. 1995. Beeswax rock art in the Kimberley, Western Australia. Rock Art Research 12(1): 23-28

Wille, A. 1977. A general review of the fossil stingless bees. Revista de Biología Tropical 25: 43-46 [Date published 31/12/1977]

Wille, A. 1979. A comparative study of the pollen press and nearby structures in the bees of the family Apidae. Revista de Biología Tropical 27: 217-221 [Date published 31/12/1979]

Williams, G.A. & Adam, P. 1997. The composition of the bee (Apoidea: Hymenoptera) fauna visiting flowering trees in New South Wales lowland subtropical rainforest remnants. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 118: 69-95

Winner, W.G. 1983. Introduced bees in conservation parks. Australasian Beekeeper 84: 213-214 [Date published 31/12/1983]

Winston, M. L. 1979. The proboscis of the long-tongued bees: a comparative study. University of Kansas Science Bulletin 51: 631-667 [Date published 31/12/1979]

Wylie, F.R., Walsh, G.L. & Yule, R.A. 1987. Insect damage to aboriginal relics at burial and rock-art sites near Carnarvon in central Queensland. Journal of the Australian Entomological Society 26: 335-345 [Date published 31/12/1987]

Young, L. 1947. Wartime Adventures of a Science Paper. Victorian Naturalist 64: 147 [Date published 31/12/1947]

Young, L. 1967. The Melody Lingers On. Biography of Tarlton Rayment. Melbourne : Hawthorne Press 123 pp. [Date published 31/12/1967]

Zeuner, F.E. & Manning, F.J. 1976. A monograph on fossil bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea). Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) Geology 27: 149-268 [Date published 31/12/1976]

 

History of changes

Published	As part of group	Action Date	Action Type	Compiler(s)
15-Nov-2024	APIFORMES	15-Nov-2024	MODIFIED	Dr Ken Walker (NMV)
26-Jun-2023	APIFORMES	08-Mar-2024	MODIFIED	Dr Ken Walker (NMV)
22-Oct-2015	APOIDEA (s. l.)	15-Nov-2024	MODIFIED
22-Oct-2015		15-Nov-2024	MODIFIED
		07-Aug-2012	ADDED