Tetragonula clypearis

Tetragonula clypearis
Male
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Apidae
Genus: Tetragonula
Species:
T. clypearis
Binomial name
Tetragonula clypearis
Synonyms
  • Trigona laeviceps clypearis Friese, 1908
  • Trigona wybenica Cockerell, 1929

Tetragonula clypearis, also known as the clypeal stingless bee, is a species of stingless bee in the tribe Meliponini. It is native to Australasia and Southeast Asia. It was described in 1908 by German entomologist Heinrich Friese.[1][3]

Description

These are small bees. The body length of the workers is 3–4 mm, wing length 3–4 mm. They are mainly black to blackish-brown in colour.[2]

Distribution and habitat

Within Australia, the species occurs in tropical coastal north-eastern Queensland.[2][3]

Behaviour

The adults are flying mellivores. They are social insects that live in large colonies, with female reproductive and worker castes, building nests of wax and resin in dead timber and in house cavities.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b Friese, H (1908), "Hymenoptera. II. Apidae. Nova Guinea", Résultats de l'expédition scientifique néerlandaise à la Nouvelle-Guinée en 1903 sous les auspices de Arthur Wichmann, Leiden: E.J. Brill, pp. 353–359 [358]
  2. ^ a b c Dollin, AE; Dollin, LJ; Sakagami, SF (1997). "Australian stingless bees of the genus Trigona (Hymenoptera: Apidae)". Invertebrate Systematics. 11 (6): 861–896 [865]. doi:10.1071/IT96020. Retrieved 2026-01-05.
  3. ^ a b c d "Species Tetragonula clypearis (Friese, 1908)". Australian Faunal Directory. Dept of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, Australia. 2026. Retrieved 2026-01-05.