Stingless bee classification and biology (Hymenoptera, Apidae): a review, with an updated key to genera and subgenera

Abstract

Stingless bees (Meliponini) are a ubiquitous and diverse element of the pantropical mel-ittofauna, and have significant cultural and economic importance. This review outlines their diversity, and provides identification keys based on external morphology, brief ac-counts for each of the recognized genera, and an updated checklist of all living and fossil species. In total there are currently 605 described extant species in 45 extant genera, and a further 18 extinct species in nine genera, seven of which are extinct. A new fossil genus, Adactylurina Engel, gen. nov., is also described for a species in Miocene amber from Ethiopia. In addition to the systematic review, the biology of stingless bees is sum-marized with an emphasis on aspects related to their nesting biology and architecture.