Austroplebeia
Genus of insects / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Austroplebeia is a stingless bee (Meliponini) genus in the family Apidae. The genus was erected by Jesus Santiago Moure in 1961.[1][2] The genus comprises five described species endemic to Australia and New Guinea.[3]Austroplebeia are more closely related to the African stingless bees than rest of the species found in Asia and Australia.[4]
Austroplebeia | |
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Female Austroplebeia australis | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Hymenoptera |
Family: | Apidae |
Tribe: | Meliponini |
Genus: | Austroplebeia Moure, 1961 |
The species of Austroplebeia are difficult to separate reliably by body size or morphology[5] except for A. cincta which can be distinguished readily by its colouration and pilosity.[6] There are also few differences in their nest structures. This has hindered taxonomic studies to date and no workable key exists for the Austroplebeia species.[7]
All species are small, black and robust (length: 3.0–4.9 mm) and differ from other stingless bee species that co-occur in the same region (i.e. Tetragonula, Platytrigona, Papuatrigona) by the presence of cream or yellow markings in their head and thorax.[3] Most species construct their nests largely from wax, unlike most stingless bees, they use propolis sparingly. They construct a fine, lacy curtain of resin droplets over their nest entrance at night in order to protect against ants and other predators.[8][9]
In Australia, people keep these bees in logs or wooden hives made of boxes.[8][9] They show potential as pollinators of both field and greenhouse crops[10][11][12]