IDmyBee
  • IDmyBee
    • The project
    • Why IDmyBee ?
    • You can help
    • The team
  • Bee Taxa
    • List of genera
    • Andrenidae >
      • Andreninae >
        • Andrena
      • Panurginae >
        • Melitturga
        • Camptopoeum
        • Clavipanurgus
        • Flavipanurgus
        • Panurginus
        • Panurgus
        • Simpanurgus
    • Apidae >
      • Anthophorinae >
        • Ancyla
        • Tarsalia
        • Amegilla
        • Anthophora
        • Habropoda
      • Apinae >
        • Apis
        • Bombus
      • Eucerinae >
        • Eucera
      • Nomadinae >
        • Ammobates
        • Chiasmognathus
        • Parammobatodes
        • Pasites
        • Ammobatoides
        • Schmiedeknechtia
        • Biastes
        • Epeolus
        • Triepeolus
        • Melecta
        • Thyreus
        • Nomada
        • Epeoloides
      • Xylocopinae >
        • Ceratina
        • Xylocopa
    • Colletidae >
      • Colletes
      • Hylaeus
    • Halictidae >
      • Halictinae >
        • Halictus
        • Lasioglossum
        • Thrincohalictus
        • Ceylalictus
        • Nomioides
        • Sphecodes
      • Nomiinae >
        • Nomiapis
      • Rophitinae >
        • Dufourea
        • Rophites
        • Rophitoides
        • Systropha
    • Megachilidae >
      • Lithurginae >
        • Lithurgus
      • Anthidiini >
        • Afranthidium
        • Anthidiellum
        • Anthidium
        • Eoanthidium
        • Icteranthidium
        • Pseudoanthidium
        • Rhodanthidium
        • Stelis
        • Trachusa
      • Dioxyini >
        • Aglaoapis
        • Dioxys
        • Ensliniana
        • Metadioxys
        • Paradioxys
      • Megachilini >
        • Coelioxys
        • Megachile
      • Osmiini >
        • Chelostoma
        • Haetosmia
        • Heriades
        • Hofferia
        • Hoplitis
        • Osmia
        • Protosmia
        • Stenoheriades
    • Melittidae >
      • Dasypoda
      • Macropis
      • Melitta
  • Tutorial
    • How to use IDmyBee?
    • Online ID tools (Xper3)
    • Is it a bee?
    • Bee anatomy
    • Genus page guide
    • How to cite IDmyBee?
  • Bibliography
    • Bibliography
    • Online resources
  • News
  • Contact us
  • IDmyBee
    • The project
    • Why IDmyBee ?
    • You can help
    • The team
  • Bee Taxa
    • List of genera
    • Andrenidae >
      • Andreninae >
        • Andrena
      • Panurginae >
        • Melitturga
        • Camptopoeum
        • Clavipanurgus
        • Flavipanurgus
        • Panurginus
        • Panurgus
        • Simpanurgus
    • Apidae >
      • Anthophorinae >
        • Ancyla
        • Tarsalia
        • Amegilla
        • Anthophora
        • Habropoda
      • Apinae >
        • Apis
        • Bombus
      • Eucerinae >
        • Eucera
      • Nomadinae >
        • Ammobates
        • Chiasmognathus
        • Parammobatodes
        • Pasites
        • Ammobatoides
        • Schmiedeknechtia
        • Biastes
        • Epeolus
        • Triepeolus
        • Melecta
        • Thyreus
        • Nomada
        • Epeoloides
      • Xylocopinae >
        • Ceratina
        • Xylocopa
    • Colletidae >
      • Colletes
      • Hylaeus
    • Halictidae >
      • Halictinae >
        • Halictus
        • Lasioglossum
        • Thrincohalictus
        • Ceylalictus
        • Nomioides
        • Sphecodes
      • Nomiinae >
        • Nomiapis
      • Rophitinae >
        • Dufourea
        • Rophites
        • Rophitoides
        • Systropha
    • Megachilidae >
      • Lithurginae >
        • Lithurgus
      • Anthidiini >
        • Afranthidium
        • Anthidiellum
        • Anthidium
        • Eoanthidium
        • Icteranthidium
        • Pseudoanthidium
        • Rhodanthidium
        • Stelis
        • Trachusa
      • Dioxyini >
        • Aglaoapis
        • Dioxys
        • Ensliniana
        • Metadioxys
        • Paradioxys
      • Megachilini >
        • Coelioxys
        • Megachile
      • Osmiini >
        • Chelostoma
        • Haetosmia
        • Heriades
        • Hofferia
        • Hoplitis
        • Osmia
        • Protosmia
        • Stenoheriades
    • Melittidae >
      • Dasypoda
      • Macropis
      • Melitta
  • Tutorial
    • How to use IDmyBee?
    • Online ID tools (Xper3)
    • Is it a bee?
    • Bee anatomy
    • Genus page guide
    • How to cite IDmyBee?
  • Bibliography
    • Bibliography
    • Online resources
  • News
  • Contact us

GENUS   Ceratina

Author: Latreille, 1803

Type species: Hylaeus albilabris, 1793 = Apis cucurbitina Rossi, 1792, Monobasic, Placed on official List of Generic Names in Zoology by Commission Opinion 1011 (1973).
Subgenera: Ceratina s.str. Latreille, 1802;  Euceratina Hirashima, Moure and Daly, 1971; Neoceratina Perkins, 1912; Pithitis Klug, 1807.
Synonyms: Clavicera Latreille, 1802
Clade: Anthophila
Family: Apidae
Subfamily: Xylocopinae
Tribe: Ceratinini
Estimated min and max body length from the genus.
Countries with known records of the genus (based on Nieto et al. 2014)
Estimated difficulty to accurately identify a specimen as belonging to this genus.
Distinctive traits
  •  black or metallic blue or green cuticle
  • almost hairless
  • 3 submarginal cells
  • Long mouthparts (glossa and labial palpi)
  • no pygidial plate

Pictures of distinctive traits.
(Sorry, there is no picture available at this time. If you have some and would like to become a contributor to IDmyBee, please contact us.)
Morphologically close genera and how to distinguish them:
There are several small black bees that can be confused with Ceratina, however most of them have a 'short tongue' morphology, while Ceratina species have 'long tongue' ones. Some genera like 'Panurgus' may have long mouthparts, but the morphology remains that of a 'short-tongue' (short glossa and palpi with segment of similar size). In addition they have only two submarginal cells, and / or they lack the pygidial plate.
General comments on Ceratina species identification
Identification criteria of females include body size, colour, size of the pale spots on the face, density of punctation of the face and thorax, shape of the hypostomal carina.
Males can be distinguished using the shape of T7 and pilosity of the posterior leg.
SPECIES IDENTIFICATION TOOL
Sorry, but the species identification tool is not yet available for Ceratina. 
Please check the reference(s) at the bottom of the page for traditional keys.

List of the 28 Ceratina species found in Europe (UICN 2014 + Rasmont et al. 2017)

Ceratina (Ceratina) cucurbitina (Rossi 1972)
Ceratina (Ceratina) parvula Smith 1854
Ceratina (Euceratina) acuta Friese 1896
Ceratina (Euceratina) albosticta Cockerell 1931
Ceratina (Euceratina) callosa (Fabricius 1794)
Ceratina (Euceratina) chalcites Germar 1839
Ceratina (Euceratina) chalybea Chevrier 1872
Ceratina (Euceratina) chrysomalla Gerstaecker 1869
Ceratina (Euceratina) cyanea (Kirby 1802)
Ceratina (Euceratina) cypriaca Mavromoustakis 1949
Ceratina (Euceratina) dallatorreana Friese 1896
Ceratina (Euceratina) dentiventris Gerstaecker 1869
Ceratina (Euceratina) gravidula Gerstaecker 1869
Ceratina (Euceratina) loewi Gerstaecker 1869



Ceratina (Euceratina) mandibularis Friese 1896
Ceratina (Euceratina) mocsáryi Friese 1896
Ceratina (Euceratina) moricei Friese 1899
Ceratina (Euceratina) neocallosa Daly 1983
Ceratina (Euceratina) nigroaenea Gerstaecker 1869
Ceratina (Euceratina) nigrolabiata Friese 1896
Ceratina (Euceratina) sakagamii Terzo 1998
Ceratina (Euceratina) saundersi Daly 1983
Ceratina (Euceratina) teunisseni Terzo &Rasmont 1997
Ceratina (Euceratina) zandeni Terzo 1998
Ceratina (Neoceratina) bispinosa Handlirsch 1889
Ceratina (Neoceratina) schwarzi Kocourek 1998
Ceratina (Pithitis) tarsata Morawitz 1872

References with identification keys for some of the species:
  • Amiet, F., Herrmann, M., Müller, A., & Neumeyer, R. (2007). Apidae 5: Ammobates, Ammobatoides, Anthophora, Biastes, Ceratina, Dasypoda, Epeoloides, Epeolus, Eucera, Macropis, Melecta, Melitta, Nomada, Pasites, Tetralonia, Thyreus, Xylocopa (Vol. 5). Centre suisse de cartographie de la faune.
  • Terzo, M., Iserbyt, S., & Rasmont, P. (2007). Révision des Xylocopinae (Hymenoptera: Apidae) de France et de Belgique. In Annales de la Société Entomologique de France 43(4) : 445-491.
  • Falk S.J. (2015) Field Guide to the Bees of Great Britain and Ireland. Bloomsbury wildlife guides. 432 p.
Online resources:
Atlas hymenoptera (Europe, France & Belgium)
BWARS (UK)
Discover Life (World)
WestPalBees (West Palearctic)
Page contributors:
  • Adrien Perrard (Dec. 2019)

You noticed a mistake? You have a suggestion to improve this page?
Don't keep it to yourself, contact us and become a contributor to IDmyBee!
References used to write this page:
  • Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World, 2nd Edition. The John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore.
  • Michez D., Rasmont P., Terzo, M., Vereecken, N. 2019. Abeilles d'Europes. Hymenoptères d'Europes, Volume 1. N.A.P. Editions.
  • Nieto, A., Roberts, S. P., Kemp, J., Rasmont, P., Kuhlmann, M., García Criado, M., ... & Michez, D. 2014. European red list of bees. Luxembourg: Publication Office of the European Union, 98.
  •  Rasmont, P., Devalez, Jelle, Pauly, A., Michez, D. & Radchenko, V.G. 2017. Addition to the checklist of IUCN European wild bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea). Annales de la Société entomologique de France 53: 17-32.

Home

About

News

Contact

IDmyBee is a project managed by researchers. If you use its content, please cite us.