The family Dasypodaidae (originally named "Dasypodidae", but that name was preoccupied) is a small bee family, with some 70-80 species in 7 genera, found in Africa and the northern temperate zone, primarily in xeric habitats. Historically, they have been considered a subfamily within the family Melittidae, but recent molecular studies indicate that Dasypodaids are not only ancestral to them, but in fact are the sister taxon to all other bees.[1]. The largest genus, Hesperapis, contains some 40 known species, plus several more undescribed, with an unusual disjunct distribution in North America and southern Africa.
They are typically small to moderate-sized bees, with shaggy scopae, and are commonly oligolectic. All members of this family have two submarginal cells in the forewing.
References
^ Danforth, B.N., Sipes, S., Fang, J., Brady, S.G. (2006) The history of early bee diversification based on five genes plus morphology. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103: 15118-15123.
C. D. Michener (2000) The Bees of the World, Johns Hopkins University Press.
