The Anthophoridae family comprise of three subfamilies, Nomadinae, Anthophorinae and Xylocopinae. It is cosmopolitan and to date several thousands of species have been described world-wide.
The Nomadinae are generally short haired parasitic forms without a scopae. They have a slender wasp-like body.
The Anthophoridae, are generally hairy pollen collecting bees, although some tribes display parasitic behaviour. Nest are generally borrows in soil and several species are communal, females sharing the same nest.
The Xylocopinae contain large hairy bees, as well as small sparsely hairy specimens. They generally nest in cavities constructed in wood, stems and bamboos. Sometime a nest will contain several individual with notable cast behaviour.
Click on the thumbnails below for larger images and biology for each species illustrated.
