Stelis (bee) explained

Stelis is a genus of kleptoparasitic cuckoo bees in the family Megachilidae. There are at least 100 described species in Stelis.^{[1] [2]}

Description

One study of the species Stelis ater found they differed a bit from other thieving bees by being hospicidal (host-killing) at all larval stages, and neither it nor its host larva move much, so it is simply a matter of chance when its growth brings it into contact with the host rather than with just the provisions. This is in contrast to other kleptoparasitic bees which usually have their more mobile first instar larva kill the host larva.^[3]

See also

• List of Stelis species

Further reading

• Book: Ross H. Arnett. 30 July 2000. American Insects: A Handbook of the Insects of America North of Mexico. CRC Press.. 978-0-8493-0212-1.
• Book: Michener . Charles D.. 2000. The Bees of the World. The Johns Hopkins University Press. xiv + 913. 0-8018-6133-0.
• Book: Michener . Charles D.. 2007. The Bees of the World. The Johns Hopkins University Press. Second Edition. xvi + 953. 978-0-8018-8573-0.
• Sharkey . M.J.. 2007. Phylogeny and Classification of Hymenoptera. Zootaxa. 309. 13–48.
• Hinojosa-Díaz I. 2008. The giant resin bee making its way west: First record in Kansas (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae). ZooKeys. 1. 67–71. 10.3897/zookeys.1.17. free. 2008ZooK....1...67H.
• Sharkey . M.J.. Carpenter . J.M.. Vilhelmsen . L.. 2012. Phylogenetic relationships among superfamilies of Hymenoptera. Cladistics. 28 . 1 . 80–112. 10.1111/j.1096-0031.2011.00366.x. 34861753. 33628659. free.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Stelis Genus Information. BugGuide.net. 2018-02-06.
2. Web site: Stelis Report. Integrated Taxonomic Information System. 2018-02-06.
3. Book: Emry . Paige . Our Native Bees . 78.