Apinae Latreille

Subfamily Apinae Latreille View in CoL

Clade Corbiculata Engel

There are four extant tribes of corbiculate bees, along with an additional three tribes known only from fossils. These are some of the most familiar of all bees ( Michener, 2007; Engel and Rasmussen, 2021): orchid bees ( Euglossini ), bumble bees ( Bombini ), stingless bees ( Meliponini ), and honey bees ( Apini ). Currently available evidence indicates that the three extinct tribes— Electrobombini , Electrapini , and Melikertini — disappeared during the Eocene-Oligocene transition ( Engel, 2001).

Some assert that the formal name Corbiculata is attributable to Shuckard (1866). In fact, Shuckard (1866) never established such a name and instead classified corbiculate bees as his Section Cenobites Shuckard, 1866 (160, 302); he also renamed all bees as Mellicolligerae Shuckard [= Anthophila Latreille]. In discussing the systematic arrangement of Apidae, Shuckard (1866: 165) wrote about the character uniting the Cenobites being, “the glabrous surface of the posterior tibiae, with their lateral edges fringed with bristles slightly curved inwards... a sort of natural basket for the conveyance of pollen or other stores to the nest.” He continues, “This, however, has not been made use of as a main feature for scientific distribution, although they might follow the Dasygasters [ Megachilidae ], as corbiculated bees, or little basket bearers.” Thus, Shuckard introduces the term corbicula for this structure and uses the term as an adjectival description of the bees he actually classifies as Cenobites. Accordingly, Shuckard never proposed a “Corbiculata” and the formal name, rather than an adjective or new morphological term, cannot be said to derive from his work.