There are 81 genera, 237 subgenera with 4111 species in the family Megachilidae in the world (Ascher & Pickering, 2015). From India, Ascher & Pickering (2015) reported 28 genera with 237 species. Michener (2007) proposed family Megachilidae with two subfamilies: Fideliinae and Megachilinae. Megachilinae is the largest subfamily with five tribes: Anthidiini, Megachilini, Lithurgini, Osmiini and Dioxyini.
Bees of subfamily Fideliinae occurred in India with only one tribe Pararhophitini with genus Pararhophites. Pararhophites is the only non-parasitic Megachilidae genus without sternal scopa. Pararhophites can be found in Northwestern India (Michener, 2007).
Anthidiini is a group of bees often called carder and resin bees. Females of most Anthidiini species construct nests for their brood on stems, rocks, leaves or in pre-existing burrows like empty snail shells and mud nests of wasps or in the soil, such as those constructed by Trachusa Panzer and Paranthidium Cockerell. Nests are constructed with a great variety of materials, such as resin, pieces of leaves, plant fibers and pebbles or even animal hair. Some species of this group are kleptoparasitic in nature. The tribe Anthidiini is a group prone to striking morphological structures like carinae and lamellae on various parts of the body and often with colourful markings. This array of ornamentation has resulted in numerous genera. The Anthidiini bee fauna is diverse in both the Western and Eastern Hemispheres (Michener 1997). The known Anthidiini bees in India consists of 37 species in ten genera (Ascher & Pickering 2016).
Megachilini is a tribe of leaf-cutter and resin bees. The Megachilini is the most speciose tribe within Megachilidae, comprising four genera: Coelioxys Latreille, Megachile Latreille, Noteriades Cockerell and Radoszkowskiana Popov. Species of genus Coelioxys are brood parasite of Megachile.
Megachilid bees of the tribe Lithurgini are commonly known as wood-boring bees because they usually excavate burrows in dry, dead, often decayed wood.
The Osmiini commonly referred to as the mason bees, constitute a very diverse tribe within the megachilid bees, with over 1000 species currently recognized (Michener, 2007; Ungricht et al., in press). They occur on all continents except Australia and South America, being especially diverse and numerous in regions with Mediterranean and xeric climates of the Palearctic (southern Europe, Northern Africa, Middle East and Central Asia), North America (Southwestern Deserts, California) and Southern Africa (Cape Province, Namibia). Depending on the species, Osmiini bees build their nests in holes in the ground, below stones, on rock surfaces, in pithy stems, galls or in beetle borings in dead wood. Many species are known to nest exclusively in abandoned snail shells.
The Dioxyini is a tribe of large bees. This tribe is present in India with only one genus, of which one species Aglaoapis brevipennis is reported from India (Cameron, 1901). Some genus (eg. Dioxys) of the tribe Dioxyini are kleptoparasitic bees which don’t have scopa for pollen collection. Aglaoapis occurs in Europe, Western Asia, Western India and South Africa. In India it is known from Mumbai.