Ant and Bee Families (Hymenoptera)

The ant and bee families are the families of the order Hymenoptera that hold ants and bees. Ants form a single family, Formicidae, with approximately 12,000 species documented worldwide and an estimated 15,000 in existence, placed in about 21 subfamilies. Bees belong to the superfamily Apoidea, whose families include the Andrenidae, the Apidae with bumble bees, honey bees and stingless bees, the Colletidae or plasterer bees, the Halictidae or sweat bees, the Megachilidae or leafcutting bees, the Melittidae and the Stenotritidae, alongside the wasp families Ampulicidae, Crabronidae and Sphecidae.