Ceratina (Neoceratina)

Taxonomy

Family: Apidae
Subfamily: Xylocopinae
Tribe: Ceratinini
Genus: Ceratina Latreille, 1802
Subgenus: Neoceratina Perkins, 1912
Common name: small carpenter bees

Overview

Ceratina (Neoceratina) are small, black or weakly metallic, strongly punctatepunctate:
studded with tiny holes
bees, with pale markings that are limited to the face, the pronotal lobepronotal lobe:
a part of the pronotum located dorsally on the posterior margin of the pronotum and overlaps the anterior thoracic spiracle
, and legs. Their body length ranges from 4–6 mm (Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.).

Diagnostic characteristics

(modified from Hirashima 1971aHirashima 1971a:
Hirashima, Y. 1971. Subgeneric classification of the genus Ceratina Latreille of Asia and West Pacific, with comments on the remaining subgenera of the world (Hymenoptera, Apoidea). Journal of the Faculty of Agriculture Kyushu University 16 (4): 349ndash;375.; Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.)

• Gena gena:
  the cheek or side of the head
  and fronsfrons:
  the area between the antennae and ocelli on the bee's head
  with at least some punctationpunctation:
  overall pattern of the punctures on a surface of a bee, includes size of punctures and the distance between them
  .
• Female with graduligraduli:
  A transverse line on abdominal segments of some bees that is formed by a groove or a step between two regions that differ in height. This line can be well developed and present across the entire segment but can also be diminished or absent through part of the segment, requiring close inspection.
  present T1–T5 and S1–S4
• Male with graduligraduli:
  A transverse line on abdominal segments of some bees that is formed by a groove or a step between two regions that differ in height. This line can be well developed and present across the entire segment but can also be diminished or absent through part of the segment, requiring close inspection.
  present T1–T6 (although very weak on T6) and S1–S6.
• Male gonostylusgonostylus:
  the apical-most appendage of the male genitalia, which is usually quite hairy
  with a downward curving small projection.
• Male T7T7:
  the segments on the top side of the abdomen, often abbreviated when referring to a specific segment to T1, T2, T3, T4, T5, T6, or T7
  elongate and extending posteriorly, its apexapex:
  end of any structure
  can be either unidentate or bidentatebidentate:
  having two teeth
  .
• Male S2S2:
  the plates on the underside of the abdomen, often abbreviated when referring to a specific segment to S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6, S7, or S8
  with a small tubercletubercle:
  a small knob-like or rounded protuberance
  in the middle (except in C. nigra where it is absent).
• Male S6S6:
  the plates on the underside of the abdomen, often abbreviated when referring to a specific segment to S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6, S7, or S8
  with a pair of apicalapical:
  near or at the apex or end of any structure
  projections (except for C. australensis and C. propinqua which has a median apicalapical:
  near or at the apex or end of any structure
  emargination bordered by a u-shaped carinacarina:
  a clearly defined ridge or keel, not necessarily high or acute; usually appears on bees as simply a raised line
  instead).

May be confused with

Ceratina (Neoceratina) resemble those of Ceratina (Ceratina) in coloration and punctationpunctation:
overall pattern of the punctures on a surface of a bee, includes size of punctures and the distance between them
, but they can be separated by the absence of a gradulusgradulus:
A transverse line on abdominal segments of some bees that is formed by a groove or a step between two regions that differ in height. This line can be well developed and present across the entire segment but can also be diminished or absent through part of the segment, requiring close inspection.
S5 of the female that is present in Ceratina (Ceratina). Males of Ceratina (Neoceratina) can be differentiated by the shape of T7T7:
the segments on the top side of the abdomen, often abbreviated when referring to a specific segment to T1, T2, T3, T4, T5, T6, or T7
, which is elongate and extends posteriorly into one or two long projections, rather than truncatetruncate:
ending abruptly, or squared off
or rounded posteriorly as in Ceratina (Ceratina) (Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.).

Host associations

Ceratina (Neoceratina) dentipes visits many different floral species across its range, including Cocos nucifera (Arecaceae), Cuphea hyssopifolia (Lythraceae), Torenia polygonoides (Linderniaceae), and Tridax procumbens (Asteraceae) (Krombein 1951Krombein 1951:
Krombein, K.V. 1951. Additional notes on the bees of the Solomon Islands (Hymenoptera: Apoidea). Proceedings of the Hawaii Entomological Society 14: 277ndash;295.; Soh and Ngiam 2013Soh and Ngiam 2013:
Soh, Z.W. and R.W. Ngiam. 2013. Flower-visiting bees and wasps in Singapore parks (Insecta: Hymenoptera). Nature in Singapore 6: 153ndash;172.; da Silva et al. 2015da Silva et al. 2015:
da Silva, C.R., S.V. Groom, M.I. Stevens and M.P. Schwarz. 2015. Current status of the introduced allodapine bee Braunsapis puangensis (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in Fiji. Austral Entomology 55: 43ndash;48).

Nesting behavior

Ceratina (Neoceratina) nest in pithy stems and can be socially polymorphic, with both solitary and social nests in the same population. Solitary nests are attended by a single adult female while social colonies usually contain two, but occasionally three to four, adult females (Michener 1962, 1990; Michener et al. 2010Michener et al. 2010:
Michener, C.D. M.H. Richards and M.P. Schwarz. 2010. Social polymorphism in the Australian small carpenter bee, Ceratina ( Neoceratina ) australensis . Insectes Sociaux 57: 403ndash;412.; Rehan et al. 2009Rehan et al. 2009:
Rehan, S.M., M.H. Richards and M.P. Schwarz. 2009. Evidence of social nesting in the Ceratina of Borneo. Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 82: 194ndash;209.).

Diversity

Ceratina (Neoceratina) includes 13 species (Ascher and Pickering 2020Ascher and Pickering 2020:
Ascher, J.S. and J. Pickering. 2020. Discover Life bee species guide and world checklist (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Anthophila). https://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20p?see=Carinulaamp;name=Megachileamp;flags=subgenus :).

Known invasives

Ceratina (Neoceratina) dentipes is native to Asia and is thought to be invasive throughout the South Pacific. They have been introduced and have established populations in Hawaii that were likely introduced somewhat recently through shipping traffic (Shell and Rehan 2019Shell and Rehan 2019:
Shell, W.A. and S.M. Rehan. 2019. Invasive range expansion of the small carpenter bee, Ceratina dentipes (Hymenoptera: Apidae) into Hawaii with implications for native endangered species displacement. Biological Invasions 21: 1155ndash;1166.; Snelling 2003Snelling 2003:
Snelling, R.R., 2003. Bees of the Hawaiian Islands, exclusive of Hylaeus ( Nesoprosopis ) (Hymenoptera: Apoidea). Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 76 (2): 342ndash;356.).

Distribution

Ceratina (Neoceratina) are known to occur in Asia, from Turkey east to Japan, and south through Indonesia and Australia (Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.). One species has been introduced in Hawaii (Snelling 2003Snelling 2003:
Snelling, R.R., 2003. Bees of the Hawaiian Islands, exclusive of Hylaeus ( Nesoprosopis ) (Hymenoptera: Apoidea). Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 76 (2): 342ndash;356.; Shell and Rehan 2019Shell and Rehan 2019:
Shell, W.A. and S.M. Rehan. 2019. Invasive range expansion of the small carpenter bee, Ceratina dentipes (Hymenoptera: Apidae) into Hawaii with implications for native endangered species displacement. Biological Invasions 21: 1155ndash;1166.).

​Distribution map generated by Discover Life -- click on map for details, credits, and terms of use.

References

Ascher J.S. and J. Pickering. 2020. Discover Life bee species guide and world checklist (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Anthophila). http://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20q?guide=Apoidea_species.

da Silva, C.R., S.V. Groom, M.I. Stevens and M.P. Schwarz. 2015. Current status of the introduced allodapine bee Braunsapis puangensis (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in Fiji. Austral Entomology 55: 43–48

Hirashima, Y. 1971. Subgeneric classification of the genus Ceratina Latreille of Asia and West Pacific, with comments on the remaining subgenera of the world (Hymenoptera, Apoidea). Kyushu University Institutional Repository, Japan. 28pp.

Krombein, K.V. 1951. Additional notes on the bees of the Solomon Islands (Hymenoptera: Apoidea). Proceedings of the Hawaii Entomological Society 14: 277–295.

Michener, C.D. 1962. The genus Ceratina in Australia with notes on its nests (Hymenoptera: Apoidea). Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 35: 414–42.

Michener, C.D. 1990. Castes in xylocopine bees. In: Social Insects: An Evolutionary Approach to Castes and Reproduction (W. Engels, Ed), Springer Verlag, Berlin, New York. pp 123–146.

Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.

Rehan, S.M., M.H. Richards and M.P. Schwarz. 2009. Evidence of social nesting in the Ceratina of Borneo. Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 82: 194–209.

Michener, C.D. M.H. Richards and M.P. Schwarz. 2010. Social polymorphism in the Australian small carpenter bee, Ceratina (Neoceratina) australensis. Insectes Sociaux 57: 403–412.

Shell, W.A. and S.M. Rehan. 2019. Invasive range expansion of the small carpenter bee, Ceratina dentipes (Hymenoptera: Apidae) into Hawaii with implications for native endangered species displacement. Biological Invasions 21: 1155–1166.

Soh, Z.W. and R.W. Ngiam. 2013. Flower-visiting bees and wasps in Singapore parks (Insecta: Hymenoptera). Nature in Singapore 6: 153–172.