Austroplebeia
| Austroplebeia | |
|---|---|
| File:Austroplebeia australis female.jpg | |
| Female Austroplebeia australis | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Apidae |
| Tribe: | Meliponini |
| Genus: | Austroplebeia Moure, 1961 |
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]
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]
Species
[edit | edit source]In alphabetical order:[13]
- Austroplebeia australis (Friese, 1898)
- Austroplebeia cassiae (Cockerell, 1910)
- Austroplebeia cincta (Mocsáry, 1898)
- Austroplebeia essingtoni (Cockerell, 1905)
- Austroplebeia fujianica (Engel, 2021)
- Austroplebeia magna (Dollin, Dollin, & Rasmussen, 2015)
Gallery
[edit | edit source]- Austroplebeia worker faces
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A. cincta (New Guinea population) worker face. Scale bar = 0.25 mm
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A. cincta (Queensland population) worker face. Scale bar = 0.25 mm
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A. essingtoni worker face. Scale bar = 0.25 mm
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A. australis worker face. Scale bar = 0.25 mm
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A. cassiae worker face. Scale bar = 0.25 mm
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A. magna worker face. Scale bar = 0.25 mm
References
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- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value). BioStor BHL ResearchGate Publication 313186394
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- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Halcroft, Megan Therese (2012). Investigations into the biology, behaviour and phylogeny of a potential crop pollinator: the Australian stingless bee, Austroplebeia australis. Doctor of Philosophy thesis, University of Western Sydney.
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value). ResearchGate Publication 284403872
External links
[edit | edit source]
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