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Schwarziana
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Apidae
Tribe:	Meliponini
Genus:	Schwarziana Moure, 1943
Species
Schwarziana bocainensis Schwarziana chapadensis Schwarziana mourei Schwarziana quadripunctata

Schwarziana is a relatively small genus of South American stingless bees. Like other stingless bees, Schwarziana are eusocial, with large colonies primarily composed of workers and one queen. Unusually for stingless bees, colonies are formed in underground chambers rather than in tree cavities. Workers are approximately 6.5mm long

Taxonomy

The type species for this genus, S. quadripunctata, was first described by the French entomologist Amédéé Louis Michel le Peletier in 1836. Although originally placed in the genus Trigona, more recent taxonomic evaluations have since placed it under its current genus, following the 1943 description of Schwarziana by Padre J.S. Moure. However, some still categorize Schwarziana as a subgenus under the closely related genus Plebeia. Recent morphological studies support Schwarziana as a genus, while Plebeia appears to be paraphyletic.

References

1. ^ Melo, Gabriel A.R. (October 2015). "New species of the stingless bee genus Schwarziana (Hymenoptera, Apidae)". Revista Brasileira de Entomologia. 59 (4): 290–293. doi:10.1016/j.rbe.2015.08.001.
2. Camargo, J.M.F. (1974). "Notas sobre a morfologia de Plebeia (Schwarziana) quadripunctata quadripunctata (Hym., Apidae)". Stud. Entomol. 17: 433–470.
3. Wenseleers, Tom; Ratnieks, Francis L.W.; de F Robiero, Marcia; de A Alves, Denise; Imperatriz-Fonseca, Vera-Lucia (2005). "Working-Class Royalty: Bees Beat the Caste System". Biology Letters. 1 (2): 125–128. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2004.0281. PMC 1626201. PMID 17148145.
4. Michener, C.D. (2007). The Bees of the World. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.

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