Apidae

Definition

The largest family of bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea), encompassing more than 5,700 described species. The family includes the most economically and ecologically significant pollinators—honey bees (Apis), bumblebees (Bombus), and stingless bees (Meliponini)—along with carpenter bees (Xylocopinae), orchid bees (Euglossini), and numerous cleptoparasitic lineages (Nomadinae). Apidae spans all continents except Antarctica and dominates bee diversity in tropical and temperate ecosystems.

Etymology

From Latin Apis (honey bee) + -idae (family suffix)

Example

The European honey bee Apis mellifera and the buff-tailed bumblebee Bombus terrestris, both members of Apidae, are among the most intensively managed pollinators in global agriculture.

Related Terms

• Apoidea
• Hymenoptera
• Apinae
• Bombus
• Apis
• Meliponini
• Xylocopinae
• Euglossini
• Nomadinae
• Pollinator

Usage Notes

Apidae is occasionally used more broadly in older literature to include what are now separate families (Andrenidae, Halictidae, Megachilidae, Colletidae); modern systems restrict it to the clade uniting honey bees, bumblebees, stingless bees, and their close relatives. The family is monophyletic and diagnosed by a combination of larval provisioning behavior, corbiculate or scopal pollen-carrying structures, and reduced wing venation in many lineages.