Allodapula

Life-forms

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Cladus: Protostomia
Cladus: Ecdysozoa
Cladus: Panarthropoda
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Hexapoda
Classis: Insecta
Cladus: Dicondylia
Subclassis: Pterygota
Cladus: Metapterygota
Infraclassis: Neoptera
Cladus: Eumetabola
Cladus: Endopterygota
Superordo: Hymenopterida
Ordo: Hymenoptera
Subordo: Apocrita
Superfamilia: Apoidea

Familia: Apidae
Subfamilia: Xylocopinae
Tribus: Allodapini
Genus: Allodapula
Species (16): A. acutigera – A. brunnescens – A. dichroa – A. empeyi – A. guillarmodi – A. hessei – A. jucunda – A. maculithorax – A. melanopus – A. monticola – A. ornaticeps – A. palliceps – A. rozeni – A. turneri – A. variegata – A. xerica

[Source: Catalogue of Life: 2013 Annual Checklist]
Name

Allodapula Cockerell, 1934: Ann. Mag. nat. Hist., (10) 14, 220.
References

Michener, C.D. 1975: Larvae of African allodapine bees. 3. The genera Allodapula and Eucondylops. Journal of the Entomological Society of South Africa, 38(2): 243–250.
Kayaalp, P.; Craigie, A.I.; Schwarz, M.P. 2011: Description of a new subgenus of Allodapula (Apidae: Allodapini) based on larval morphology and DNA sequence data. African entomology 19(2): 564–571. DOI: 10.4001/003.019.0303 Reference page.

Allodapula is a genus of bees in the family Apidae, subfamily Xylocopinae. They are similar in appearance, around 7mm in length, with swarthy head and thorax, contrasting with the brown abdomen. After the removal of a number of former species into other genera, the genus as presently defined occurs only in Africa.
Biology
Allodapula sp. collecting Aloe pollen

The nest is inside a hollow weed or shrub stalk, and the tip of the abdomen is used to close off the nest entrance.[1] A set of eggs are laid inside the plant stalk, in quick succession, so as to hatch together. They are placed at about the same height, above the bottom of the nest.[2] The larvae are fed on pollen, which like other bees, is carried on hairs of the hind pair of legs. The larvae are mostly fed progressively, but being clumped together, they feed on a common food mass.[3]
Species

Allodapula acutigera Cockerell, 1936
Allodapula brunnescens (Cockerell, 1934)
Allodapula dichroa (Strand, 1915)
Allodapula empeyi Michener, 1975
Allodapula guillarmodi Michener, 1970
Allodapula hessei Michener, 1971
Allodapula jucunda (Smith, 1879)
Allodapula maculithorax Michener, 1971
Allodapula melanopus (Cameron, 1905)
Allodapula monticola (Cockerell, 1933)
Allodapula ornaticeps Michener, 1971
Allodapula palliceps (Friese, 1924)
Allodapula rozeni Michener, 1975
Allodapula turneri (Cockerell, 1934)
Allodapula variegata (Smith, 1854)
Allodapula xerica Michener, 1971

Notes

Picker, Mike (2002), Field Guide to Insects of South Africa, Cape Town: Struik, ISBN 978-1-77007-061-5
Michener, C.D. (1974), The Social Behavior of the Bees, Harvard University Press, pp. 307–309
van Noort, Simon. "Allodapula Cockerell". WaspWeb. iziko museums. Retrieved 7 August 2013.