Centris Fabricius

Genaro, Julio A. & Breto, Dayron, 2024, The genus Centris Fabricius in Cuba, with a new record and the description of a new species (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Anthophila), Insecta Mundi 2024 (41), pp. 1-26 : 3

Subgenus Centris Fabricius

Diagnosis. Members of the subgenus usually have a metallic metasomal background color; many species have yellow metasomal markings. In males, the gonocoxites each have a long, slender apical projection bearing long branched setae along the inner margin and extending parallel to the gonostylus ( Snelling 1984; Michener 2007). Some species possess metanders or beta-males, i.e., dimorphic males which are unusually large and robust, with very stout legs, and much more extensively maculate than normal males ( Snelling 1984, Vivallo 2019).

Nest in soil: flat ground or earth banks ( Vinson and Frankie 1977, 1988; Coville et al. 1983; Vinson et al. 1987; Martins et al. 2020).

Twelve species occurring in the Antilles: C. decolorata Lepeletier , C. dirrhoda Moure , C. elegans F. Smith , C. errans Fox , C. fasciata F. Smith , C. haemorrhoidalis (Fabr.) , C. insularis F. Smith , C. poecila Lepeletier , C. smithii Cresson , C. taina n. sp, C. testacea Lepeletier , and C. versicolor Fabr.