Apoidea
Guides
Ammoplanidae
Ammoplanidae is a family of very small apoid wasps, formerly treated as the group Ammoplanina within Crabronidae. The family contains about ten genera and at least 130 described species. Ammoplanid wasps are notable for hunting thrips associated with flowers, rather than collecting pollen as adult bees do. Molecular work has placed Ammoplanina close to the evolutionary branch leading to bees, although the exact sister-group relationship remains partly sensitive to the data and analysis used.
Andrena fragilis
Fragile Miner Bee, Fragile Dogwood Andrena
Andrena fragilis is a solitary mining bee in the family Andrenidae. It is native to North America, with confirmed records from the northeastern United States including Vermont. The species belongs to a large genus of ground-nesting bees that excavate tunnels in soil to provision their larvae with pollen. Like other Andrena species, it is active in spring and contributes to pollination of early-flowering plants.
Andrena miserabilis
Miserable Mining Bee, Miserable Andrena
Andrena miserabilis, commonly known as the Miserable Mining Bee, is a solitary mining bee species in the family Andrenidae. The species was described by Cresson in 1872 and occurs in Central America and North America. As with other Andrena species, it is a ground-nesting solitary bee that plays a role in pollination.
Andrena vulpicolor
Andrena vulpicolor is a species of mining bee in the family Andrenidae, first described by Cockerell in 1897. It belongs to the large genus Andrena, which contains over 250 species of solitary, ground-nesting bees. Like other members of this genus, it is a solitary bee that nests in soil and provisions its young with pollen. The species is native to North America.
Angarosphecidae
Angarosphecidae is an extinct family of aculeate wasps placed in the superfamily Apoidea. Its fossil record extends from the Valanginian through the Ypresian, covering part of the Early Cretaceous to the early Eocene. Fossils assigned to the family have been reported from several continents and from a wide range of Cretaceous and early Paleogene formations. The family records an early branch of apoidean wasps, but many aspects of its biology are not preserved or cannot be reconstructed confidently.
Anthophila
bees
Anthophila is the clade comprising all bees, a monophyletic lineage within the superfamily Apoidea. With over 20,000 described species across seven recognized families, bees represent one of the most ecologically significant groups of insect pollinators. The clade encompasses diverse life histories, from solitary to eusocial species, and exhibits remarkable morphological variation associated with pollen collection and transport. Bees originated from predatory wasp ancestors and evolved specialized adaptations for exploiting floral resources, making them critical components of terrestrial ecosystems and agricultural systems worldwide.
Astatidae
Astatidae is a family of solitary wasps within Apoidea, the group that also contains bees. It is described as cosmopolitan and includes Astata, Diploplectron, Dryudella, and Uniplectron. Astata is the largest included genus in the commonly cited family summary. Classification has changed as phylogenetic evidence has revised the boundaries used for sphecid wasp groups.
Bembicidae
Bembicidae is a worldwide family of apoid wasps commonly known as sand wasps. The family contains many soil-nesting predators, although its members are diverse in form and behavior. Many species excavate burrows and place captured insects in them as food for developing young. Some bembicids instead practice kleptoparasitism, taking resources from nests of other bembicids.
Colletes tectiventris
Hairy-tailed Cellophane Bee
Colletes tectiventris is a solitary ground-nesting bee in the family Colletidae, commonly known as the Hairy-tailed Cellophane Bee. Like other Colletes species, it constructs subterranean burrows lined with a cellophane-like secretion from the Dufour's gland. The species was described by Timberlake in 1951 and occurs in North America. Specific details about its biology remain poorly documented compared to better-studied congeners such as C. inaequalis and C. thoracicus.
Halictidae
sweat bees, halictid bees
Halictidae is the second-largest family of bees with nearly 4,500 described species worldwide. Commonly called sweat bees, many species are attracted to human perspiration to obtain dissolved salts and electrolytes. The family exhibits remarkable diversity in social organization, ranging from solitary to primitively eusocial species, and includes the taxon for which the term "eusocial" was originally coined. Halictids are important pollinators of wildflowers and some agricultural crops.
Heterogyna
Heterogyna is a genus of small apoidean wasps; GBIF currently lists nine accepted species. Records span Madagascar and parts of Africa, the Middle East, and the eastern Mediterranean. These wasps are notable for pronounced wing differences between the sexes: females are typically short-winged, while males are winged. Their reduced wing venation and unusual sting structure have attracted taxonomic study, but the proposed grasping function of the sting has not been confirmed.
Hoplitis howardi
Hoplitis howardi is a solitary bee species in the family Megachilidae, tribe Osmiini. First described by Cockerell in 1910, this species belongs to a large genus of mason bees that nest in pre-existing cavities. The genus Hoplitis is characterized by females that construct nest cells using collected materials such as leaf pieces, mud, or resin. H. howardi occurs in North America and Middle America, though specific ecological details remain poorly documented in published literature.
Larridae
Larridae is an accepted family of insects in the order Hymenoptera. GBIF places the family in Arthropoda, Hexapoda, and Insecta, with Hymenoptera as its immediate parent rank. The family belongs to the apoid-wasp portion of Hymenoptera, a group whose classification has changed as molecular studies revised older broad family concepts. No widely used common name is established here, and the family’s biology is best described through verified information about its included taxa.
Lasioglossum pictum
Lasioglossum pictum is a species of sweat bee in the family Halictidae, first described by Crawford in 1902. Like other members of this large genus, it is a ground-nesting bee. The species is documented from North America. As with many Lasioglossum species, detailed natural history information specific to L. pictum is limited in available sources.
Megachile pseudobrevis
southeastern little leaf-cutter bee
Megachile pseudobrevis, commonly known as the southeastern little leaf-cutter bee, is a solitary bee species in the family Megachilidae. It was described by Mitchell in 1935. As a member of the genus Megachile, it belongs to a diverse group of bees characterized by their leaf-cutting nesting behavior, though specific behavioral details for this species remain poorly documented. The species occurs in North America.
Mellinidae
Mellinidae is a small family of wasps within Hymenoptera and the apoidean line of aculeate wasps. Available family-level summaries recognize two genera, Mellinus and Xenosphex, and report the family from several biogeographic realms. The family has a history of being treated as Mellininae within Crabronidae, while later phylogenomic work supports recognizing it separately. Detailed natural-history information is uneven among the family’s members, so traits documented for one species should not be generalized to the entire family.
Pemphredonidae
Pemphredonidae is a family of small apoid wasps commonly called aphid wasps. The family is placed in Hymenoptera and includes solitary wasps whose females prepare nest cells for their offspring. Depending on the genus, nests may be excavated in soil or made in plant material. The defining natural-history pattern is a larval cell supplied with animal prey rather than plant food: a female places paralyzed prey in the cell, lays an egg, and the larva feeds after hatching.
Perdita pelargoides
Perdita pelargoides is a species of mining bee in the family Andrenidae, first described by Cockerell in 1916. It is native to North America. As a member of the genus Perdita, it is likely a small, solitary bee, though specific details about its biology remain poorly documented in available sources.
Philanthidae
Philanthidae is a family of solitary wasps in Apoidea. It includes the large genus Cerceris, as well as Philanthus and several less diverse genera. GBIF recognizes it as an accepted hymenopteran family. Philanthid females are predatory nest-builders that dig ground nests and provision larval cells with prey, but prey and nesting details vary across the family.
Pseudopanurgus rugosus
Pseudopanurgus rugosus is a species of mining bee in the family Andrenidae, first described by Robertson in 1895. The species is native to North America and Middle America. As a member of the Panurginae subfamily, it is a solitary bee that excavates nests in soil. The specific epithet 'rugosus' refers to a wrinkled or roughened surface texture, likely describing some aspect of the integument.
Ptiloglossa mexicana
Mexican feather-tongue
Ptiloglossa mexicana is a nocturnal bee species in the family Colletidae, commonly known as the Mexican feather-tongue. It is found from Central America north to Texas, USA. As a member of the genus Ptiloglossa, it belongs to a group of bees characterized by their distinctive feathery glossae (tongue structures) adapted for nectar collection. The species is part of the diverse and ecologically important community of native bees that contribute to pollination in its range.
Tanaops basalis
Tanaops basalis is a species of mining bee in the family Andrenidae. The species is native to North America, with records from the western United States. Like other members of Andrenidae, females are solitary ground-nesters that provision brood cells with pollen and nectar. Males are often observed patrolling areas near female nesting sites.
Taxigramma
satellite flies
Taxigramma is a genus of satellite flies (Diptera: Sarcophagidae: Miltogramminae) comprising approximately 18 described species globally. Eight species are documented from China, with recent taxonomic work clarifying their distributions and providing first records for several species. Members of this genus are kleptoparasites that exploit other insects, particularly bees.
Temnogynidae
Temnogynidae is an extinct family of apoid wasps known from fossils in Burmese amber. Rosa and Melo established the family in 2024 as a new group from the mid-Cretaceous, placing it within Hymenoptera and Apoidea. The available account recognizes two genera, Rhapidogyna and Temnogyna. Because the family is known from a small fossil record, many aspects of its biology cannot be established from the available sources.
Typhoctes
Typhoctes is a genus of wasps in the family Chyphotidae, a group of small, often nocturnal parasitoid wasps. These insects are part of the broader superfamily Apoidea, which includes bees and spheciform wasps. The genus is relatively poorly studied compared to related groups, with limited published information on its biology and ecology. Species in this genus are primarily known from specimens rather than detailed field observations.