Dead Bumble Bee - Xylocopa tabaniformis

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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies (Hymenoptera) » Aculeata - Ants, Bees and Stinging Wasps » Apoidea (clade Anthophila) - Bees » Cuckoo, Carpenter, Digger, Bumble, and Honey Bees (Apidae) » Carpenter and Small carpenter Bees (Xylocopinae) » Large Carpenter Bees (Xylocopa) » Subgenus Notoxylocopa (Xylocopa Subgenus Notoxylocopa) » Horse-fly Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa tabaniformis) » Xylocopa tabaniformis orpifex

Photo#181427

Copyright © 2008 Natalie McNear

Dead Bumble Bee - Xylocopa tabaniformis -

Marin County, California, USA
May 8, 2008
Size: 2cm

I found this bee on the ground, and I thought it was interesting because I have never seen an all-black bumble bee. I don't know if it was originally yellow and black and the color changed after it died, but it appeared to be solid black and I don't think had been dead for more than a few days. Note: I put the bee on the flower to make it easier to photograph... It isn't alive.

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Dead Bumble Bee - Xylocopa tabaniformis - female

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Contributed by Natalie McNear on 8 May, 2008 - 8:58pm
Last updated 9 May, 2008 - 2:40pm

Not a bumble bee.

This is not a bumble bee. It is a female carpenter bee in the genus Xylocopa. This one is probably Xylocopa tabaniformis orpifex, a pretty common species in California. Not sure how it could have died, though I suspect either eventual death from a minor collision with a vehicle, or from poison sprayed at its nest entrance (often a hole in someone's roof support beam...).

… Eric R. Eaton, 8 May, 2008 - 9:28pm

Re: Not a bumble bee.

Thanks for the identification. X. t. orpifex looks like a pretty good match. Are these bees solitary?

… Natalie McNear, 8 May, 2008 - 10:33pm

Yes.

I know some Xylocopa have semi-social behavior, but I don't 'think' this species is one of them. I may be wrong:-) Several females may nest in close proximity, however.

… Eric R. Eaton, 9 May, 2008 - 7:13pm

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