Melittidae

The Melittidae are a small bee family, with some 60 species in four genera, restricted to Africa and the northern temperate zone. Historically, the family has included the Dasypodaidae and Meganomiidae as subfamilies, but recent molecular studies indicate Melittidae (sensu lato) was paraphyletic, so each of the three historical subfamilies is now accorded family status, with Dasypodaidae as the basal group of bees, followed by meganomiids and melittids, which are sister taxa.