Descriptions of Mature Larvae of the Bee Tribe Emphorini and Its Subtribes (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Apinae)

Jerome Rozen

doi:10.3897/zookeys.148.1839

Abstract

A description of the mature larvae of the bee tribe Emphorini based on representatives of six genera is presented herein. The two included subtribes, Ancyloscelidina and Emphorina, are also characterized and distinguished from one another primarily by their mandibular anatomy. The anatomy of abdominal segments 9 and 10 is investigated and appears to have distinctive features that distinguish the larvae of the tribe from those of related apine tribes.

Highlights

A recent study of the immature stages of the Exomalopsini (Rozen in press) presented a preliminary tribal key based on last larval instars to the non-cleptoparasitic apine taxa whose larvae were available, exclusive of the corbiculate tribes
A preliminary survey of emphorine larval mandibles from the earlier study revealed mandibular variation as remarkable as that of the Exomalopsini, prompting the current study
As explained in Rozen, the cusp is defined as an adoral extension of the apical mandibular edge that forms the upper boundary of the apical concavity. It seems well represented in the Emphorina but greatly modified in Ancyloscelidina because of the blade-like thinness of the mandibular apex and the coarse serrations of the dorsal apical edge (Figs. 12, 21, 22)

Summary

Introduction

A recent study of the immature stages of the Exomalopsini (Rozen in press) presented a preliminary tribal key based on last larval instars to the non-cleptoparasitic apine taxa whose larvae were available, exclusive of the corbiculate tribes. It revealed that the last stage larva of Ancyloscelis apiformis (Fabricius) was in certain ways remarkably different from those of other Emphorini. To investigate these differences the present paper describes the tribe based on its mature larvae and offers a larval description of Ancyloscelis (based primarily on A. apiformis), the only genus in the subtribe Ancyloscelidina, and compares it with a characterization of mature larvae of the sub-. A preliminary survey of emphorine larval mandibles from the earlier study revealed mandibular variation as remarkable as that of the Exomalopsini, prompting the current study

Methods and terminology

Conclusions and discussion