Apidae Family (Bumble Bees, Carpenter Bees, Honeybees, etc.)

The Apidae is a large family of bees with at least 5700 species. There is no agreed upon name for this large family; Apidae is comprised of honey bees, stingless bees, carpenter bees, orchid bees, cuckoo bees, bumble-bees, and others. The family Apidae presently includes all the genera previously classified in the families Anthophoridae and Ctenoplectridae.

Family Apidae is a diverse and cosmopolitan family of mainly solitary bees, with a few species which show some degree of sociality. Most species are long-tongued and have a rapid, darting flight. A pygidial plate  is present in the females of almost all species, and in most males. The clypeus is usually protuberant, and the anterior coxa is only slightly broader than long. The pollen scopa consists of hairs and is restricted to the hind tibiae and basitarsi. The family includes some of the largest bees. With the exception of the carpenter bees (Xylocopa, Ceratina, and related genera), which bore into solid wood or plant pith, all antho-phorids are ground nesters. They line their brood cells with a water-proofing secretion of the Dufour's gland. One subfamily, the five genera comprising the Nomadinae, consists entirely of parasitic or cuckoo bees, the females of which have lost the pollen scopa and lay their eggs in the nests of other bee species.

Many are valuable pollinators in natural habitats and for agricultural crops.

Apidae species live anywhere there are flowers to feed from. Some bumble bees can tolerate very cold temperatures and live in the far north and high in the mountains.

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