Anthophoridae

This is one of the very largest, if not the largest, family of bees in the world. It is present on all the continents, although it is neither as abundant nor as well developed in the Australian and Oriental regions as it is in the Holarctic, Ethiopian and Neotropical regions. The family is exceptionally well represented in the New World by numerous species and is perhaps the most diverse and largest assemblage of these bees in the world. The Anthophoridae contain three subfamilies, the Nomadinae which are cleptoparasites in the nests of pollen-collecting bees, the Anthophorinae which are chiefly pollen-collecting species, and the Xylocopinae which are also largely pollen-collecting bees. Apart from the cleptoparasites, most anthophorids make their nests in the ground although the majority of the Xylocopinae and some others (e.g., Clisodon) nest in wood of various sorts. While many and perhaps most of the pollen-collecting anthophorids are clearly polylectic in their intrafloral relationships, a number of species as well as certain groups of species (e.g., Melitomini, Peponapis, Xenoglossa, etc.) have established an oligolectic relationship with the flora. ~There are more than two dozen tribes of anthophorid bees and, with the exception of the Palaearctic Ammobatoidini and Ancylini, all of these tribes either contain representatives in the New World (11 tribes) or are found only here (14 tribes). Of the tribes found in the New World only the Neotropical Caenoprosopidini, Canephorulini, Eucerinodini, Osirini, Rathymini and Tetrapediini are not known to be present in America north of Mexico.