The family Melittidae is a small bee family, with some 110 species in 14 genera, mostly restricted to Africa and the northern temperate zone. Historically, they have been considered either the ancestors to the "long-tongued bees" (Apidae and Megachilidae), or their sister taxon. It has also been suggested that the family is paraphyletic, and each of the three recognized subfamilies is deserving of family status. Families Andrenidae Apidae Colletidae Halictidae Megachilidae Melittidae Stenotritidae Bee collecting pollen Bees (a lineage within the superfamily Apoidea) are flying insects, closely related to wasps and ants. ... Africa is the worlds second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia. ... Subfamilies Apinae - Honeybees Bombinae - Bumblebees Euglossinae - Orchid bees Meliponinae - Stingless bees Nomadinae Xylocopinae - Carpenter bees The Apidae are a large family of bees, comprising the common honeybees, stingless bees (which are also cultured for honey), carpenter bees, and bumblebees. ... Subfamilies Fideliinae Megachilinae Some of the genera Anthidium Coelioxys Heriades Hoplitis Megachile Osmia Stelis The Megachilidae are a cosmopolitan family of (mostly) solitary bees whose pollen-carrying structures (called scopae) are restricted to the ventral surface of the abdomen (rather than on the hind legs like in all other bee... This cladogram shows the relationship among various insect groups. ... Paraphyletic - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ...

They are typically small to moderate-sized bees, which often have shaggy scopae, and are commonly oligolectic, several species further specializing on floral oils as larval food rather than pollen, including Rediviva emdeorum, a highly unusual species in which the forelegs are longer than the entire body, and used to sponge up the floral oil at the end of elongated corolla spurs of the host plant, Diascia. Abdominal scopa of a Megachilid bee The term scopa is used to refer to any of a number of different modifications on the body of a bee that form a pollen-carrying apparatus. ... The term oligolecty is used in pollination ecology to refer to bees that exhibit a narrow, specialized preference for pollen sources, typically to a single genus of flowering plants. ...

The subfamily Meganomiinae is rather different in appearance from the other subfamilies, being large bees, mostly black with strong yellow markings, resembling anthidiine megachilids. Subfamilies Fideliinae Megachilinae Some of the genera Anthidium Coelioxys Heriades Hoplitis Megachile Osmia Stelis The Megachilidae are a cosmopolitan family of (mostly) solitary bees whose pollen-carrying structures (called scopae) are restricted to the ventral surface of the abdomen (rather than on the hind legs like in all other bee...

Reference

• C. D. Michener (2000) The Bees of the World, Johns Hopkins University Press.