The Ctenoplectrini are characterised by short tongues, modified scopae and large comb-like tibial spurs adapted to collect and carry a mixture of floral oils and pollen.

The unusual morphology has made it difficult to infer their closest relatives, in turn preventing an understanding of these bees’ geographic and temporal origin and had led early authors to place them in their own family Ctenoplectridae.

Recent molecular phylogenetic analyses find Ctenoplectrini to be monophyletic and closest to the long-horned bees, Eucerini.

Most of the tribe's species collect floral oil, pollen, and nectar from a few genera of the family Cucurbitaceae.

From Asia one species reached the Australian continent via Indonesia and New Guinea in the mid-Miocene, circa 13 million years ago.