From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Oxaeinae are an exclusively American subfamily of the bee family Andrenidae, consisting of large (13-26 mm), fast-flying bees, often with large eyes. There are only two constituent genera, Oxaea and Protoxaea, with a total of 19 described species ranging from the United States to Argentina. There are still some resources in which the name Oxaeidae is used, and treated as a family, but they were relegated to subfamily status in 1995.
They can be best recognized by the extremely low position of the ocelli on the face, a feature not shared by any other large bees. Their nests are deep burrows in the ground, and provisions are a soupy mixture of pollen and nectar in cells with a waxlike waterproof lining.
