A molecular phylogenetic study of the hummingbirds published in 2007 found that the family consisted of nine clades. When Edward Dickinson and James Van Remsen Jr. updated the Howard and Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World for the 4th edition in 2013, they divided the hummingbird family into six subfamilies based on the molecular results and redefined the subfamily Trochilinae to contain three clades, each of which they placed in a separate tribe: Lampornithini (mountain gems), Mellisugini (bees) and Trochilini (emeralds).
A molecular phylogenetic investigation conducted in 2007 revealed that the hummingbird family comprised nine clades. In 2013, when Edward Dickinson and James Van Remsen Jr. revised the Howard and Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World for the fourth edition, they categorized the hummingbird family into six subfamilies using molecular data and redefined the subfamily Trochilinae to include three clades, each placed in a separate tribe: Lampornithini (mountain gems), Mellisugini (bees), and Trochilini (emeralds).