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Species Xylocopa californica - California Carpenter Bee

Arizona Carpenter Bee ? - Xylocopa californica - male Carpenter bee?  - Xylocopa californica Bumblebee - Xylocopa californica Large Carpenter Bee - Xylocopa californica - female Carpenter Bee species? - Xylocopa californica Arizona Carpenter Bee? - Xylocopa californica - female Xylocopa californica - Western Carpenter Bee? - Xylocopa californica - male  Xylocopa mexicanorum. ? - Xylocopa californica - male
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Hymenoptera (Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies)
No Taxon (Aculeata - Ants, Bees and Stinging Wasps)
No Taxon (Apoidea (clade Anthophila) - Bees)
Family Apidae (Cuckoo, Carpenter, Digger, Bumble, and Honey Bees)
Subfamily Xylocopinae (Carpenter and Small carpenter Bees)
Genus Xylocopa (Large Carpenter Bees)
No Taxon (Subgenus Xylocopoides)
Species californica (California Carpenter Bee)
Other Common Names
Western carpenter bee
Size
20-25 mm
Identification
Typical large carpenter bee, all black with some bluish/greenish reflections. Male has some lighter markings on pronotum, abdominal segment 1. Compare other Carpenter bees in range, such as X. varipuncta.
Range
Utah, Nevada, California, north to Oregon, south into Mexico.
Habitat
Forests and nearby meadows
Season
Adults fly in late summer
Food
The Hosts section on its Discover Life species page lists known associations based on specimen records and images.
Print References
Milne describes life history and illustrates X. californica, p. 861, fig. 497 (1)
Powell and Hogue, p. 353--cf. X. varipuncta, fig. 457 (2)
Internet References
University of California Riverside — page on stings and color photo (Web Archive)
Works Cited
1.National Audubon Society Field Guide to Insects and Spiders
Lorus and Margery Milne. 1980. Knopf.
2.California Insects
Jerry A. Powell, Charles L. Hogue. 1989. University of California Press.