Melitta is a genus of bees in the family Melittidae. It includes about 40 species restricted to Africa and the northern temperate zone. Most Melitta species are Palaearctic, although three rare species occur in North America.

Melitta are bees of moderate size, generally 8 to 15 mm long. They are commonly oligolectic, with narrow host plant preferences. They resemble bees of the genus Andrena, though with radically different mouthparts and a scopa limited to the hind tibia and basitarsus. Melitta have a crucial role as pollinators, and are protected through the Pollinators policy included in the EU Biodiversity Strategy.

Species

Melitta aegyptiaca (Radoszkowski, 1891) Melitta albida Cockerell, 1935 Melitta americana (Smith, 1853) Melitta arrogans (Smith, 1879) Melitta avontuurensis Michez & Kuhlmann, 2014 Melitta barbarae Eardley, 2006 Melitta bicollaris Warncke, 1973 Melitta budashkini Radchenko & Ivanov, 2012 Melitta budensis (Mocsáry, 1878) Melitta californica Viereck, 1909 Melitta cameroni (Cockerell, 1910) Melitta changmuensis Wu, 1988 Melitta danae Eardley, 2006 Melitta dimidiata Morawitz, 1876 Melitta eickworti Snelling & Stage, 1995 Melitta engeli Michez, 2012 Melitta ezoana Yasumatsu & Hirashima, 1956 Melitta fulvescenta Wu, 2000 Melitta guichardi Michez, 2007 Melitta haemorrhoidalis (Fabricius, 1775) Melitta harrietae (Bingham, 1897) Melitta heilungkiangensis Wu, 1978 Melitta hispanica Friese 1900 Melitta iberica Warncke, 1973 Melitta japonica Yasumatsu & Hirashima, 1956 Melitta kastiliensis Warncke, 1973 Melitta katherinae Eardley, 2006 Melitta latronis Cockerell, 1924 Melitta leporina (Panzer, 1799) Melitta magnifica Michez, 2012 Melitta maura (Pérez, 1896) Melitta melanura (Nylander, 1852) Melitta melittoides (Viereck, 1909) Melitta mongolica Wu, 1978 Melitta montana Wu, 1992 Melitta murciana Warncke, 1973 Melitta nigrabdominalis Wu, 1988 Melitta nigricans Alfken, 1905 Melitta piersbakeri Engel, 2005 Melitta rasmonti Michez, 2007 Melitta richtersveldensis Michez & Kuhlmann, 2014 Melitta schmiedeknechti Friese, 1898 Melitta schultzei Friese, 1909 Melitta seitzi Alfken 1927 Melitta sibirica (Morawitz, 1888) Melitta singular Michez, 2012 Melitta tomentosa Friese, 1900 Melitta tricincta Kirby, 1802 Melitta udmurtica Sitdikov 1986 Melitta whiteheadi Eardley, 2006

References

Further reading

Michener, C.D. (2000) The Bees of the World, Johns Hopkins University Press.

External links Melitta Identification Guide List of Species Worldwide Species Map