Presentation of data

Information from publications containing original data is included in this survey. However, citations in faunal lists based solely on literature searches have been excluded as most are repeats of the publications of others. For each species the original reference and all subsequent combinations of names are cited. Additional information on types is given in square brackets. For example, the country of the type locality was not always cited. The names of the collectors of the type specimens are given in curved brackets after the citation of the type locality.

Biological and taxonomic information
The information on each species is summarized under nine headings. In addition, the references from which these data were derived are given with indications of the type each contains by the following symbols:-
D = Geographical distribution.
F = Flowers visited (including pollination studies).
K = Keys to identification.
L = Life history (including courtship and mating, development in the nest, sex ratios, dormancy and emergence, life-tables).
M = Morphology and anatomy (including descriptions of intersexes and mimicry).
N = Nesting (nest sites, nest architecture, building and provisioning cells, building materials).
P = Predators (including inquiline bees, beetles and flies, predators on the developmental stages, predators on adult bees, fungal diseases and other pathogens).
R = Redescription of the type sex or description of allotype. Adult female = (R-F); male (R-M) and both sexes = (R-FM).
T = Taxonomic information (locations of types).

Geographical distribution
All geographical distributions are cited by country. For the four largest countries subdivisions are cited where the collecting sites are known.

• ARGENTINA. The provinces and territories are: BA = Buenos Aires; CA = Catamarca; CB = Chubut; CD = Cordoba; ER = Entre Rios; LP = La Pampa; LR = La Rioja; ME = Mendoza; MI = Misiones; NE = Neuquen; TU = Tucuman.
• BRAZIL. The standard abbreviations for states and territories are: AC = Acre; AM = Amazonas; BA = Bahia; DF = Distrito Federal; ES = Espirito Santo; GO = Goias; MG = Minas Gerais; MS = Mato Grosso do Sul; MT = Mato Grosso; PA = Pará; PB = Paraiba; PR = Paraná; RJ = Rio de Janeiro; RN = Rio Grande do Norte; RO = Rondônia; RS = Rio Grande do Sul; SC = Santa Catarina; SP = São Paulo.
• CANADA. The provinces are: AL = Alberta; BC = British Columbia; MA = Manitoba; NF = Newfoundland; NS = Nova Scotia; NW = Northwest Territories; ON = Ontario; QU = Quebec; SA = Saskatchewan; YU = Yukon.
• JAMAICA. The parishes are: AN = St.Ann; AW = St. Andrew; CA = St.Catherine; CL = Clarendon; EL = St.Elizabeth; MA = Manchester; PO = Portland; ST = St.Thomas; TR = Trelawney.
• MEXICO. The states are: BC = Baja California; CA = Campeche; CH = Chihuahua; CO = Coahuila; CP = Chiapas; DU = Durango; GU = Guadalajara; HI = Hidalgo; JA = Jalisco; ME = Mexico City; MI = Michoacan; MO = Morelos; NA = Nayarit; NL = Nueva Leon; OA = Oaxaca; PU = Puebla; QR = Quintana Roo; SI = Sinaloa; SL = San Luis Potosi; SO = Sonora; TB = Tabasco; TM = Tamaulipas; VC = Vera Cruz; YU = Yucatan; ZA = Zacatecas.
• UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. The states are: AK = Alaska; AL = Alabama; AR = Arkansas; AZ = Arizona; CA = California; CO = Colorado; DC = District of Columbia; FL = Florida; GA = Georgia; HI = Hawaii; ID = Idaho; IL = Illinois; IN = Indiana; IO = Iowa; KA = Kansas; LA = Louisiana; MA = Massachusetts; MD = Maryland; ME = Maine; MI = Michigan; MN = Minnesota; MO = Missouri; MT = Montana; NB = Nebraska; NC = North Carolina; ND = North Dakota; NH = New Hampshire; NJ = New Jersey; NM = New Mexico; NV = Nevada; NY = New York; OH = Ohio; OK = Oklahoma; OR = Oregon; PA = Pennsylvania, SD = South Dakota; TN = Tennessee; TX = Texas; UT = Utah; VA = Virginia; WA = Washington; WI = Wisconsin; WY = Wyoming.