A recently reported bee fossil , of the genus Melittosphex , is considered `` an extinct lineage of pollen-collecting Apoidea , sister-group to the modern bees '' , and dates from the Lower Cretaceous ( ~ 100 mya ) . A recently reported bee fossil , of the genus Melittosphex , is considered `` an extinct lineage of pollen-collecting Apoidea sister to the modern bees '' , and dates from the early Cretaceous ( ~ 100 mya ) .