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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)

Genus Xylocopa - Large Carpenter Bees

Classification · Other Common Names · Explanation of Names · Numbers · Size · Identification · Range · Habitat · Season · Food · See Also · Internet References · Works Cited
Large Carpenter Bee - Xylocopa virginica - male Eastern Carpenter Bee - Xylocopa virginica - female Another Strange Xylocopa from Florida - Xylocopa micans - male Southern Carpenter Bee - Xylocopa micans - female Xylocopa californica diamesa - Xylocopa californica - male Large Bee - Xylocopa sonorina - male Xylocopa varipuncta - Xylocopa sonorina - female Xylocopa tabaniformis Huge Bee - Xylocopa griswoldi - female
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)
Other Common Names
Carpenter Bees
Explanation of Names
Xylocopa Latreille 1802
Greek 'wood-cutter'
Numbers
9 spp. in 5 subgenera in our area, 400 spp. in 31 subgenera worldwide(1)
Size
12‒26 mm
Identification
abdomen largely naked, unlike in bumble bees.
marginal cell very long and thin; 2nd submarginal cell tapers toward the body to an extreme point(2)
Space between mandible and eye is short (much longer in Bombus)vs
Pollen is collected with widely spaced, stiff bristles (Bombus carry pollen as wet mass)vs
Range
worldwide (map)(1)
X. virginica widely eastern; X. micans se. US; 3 spp. are western (X. californica, X. varipunctata, X. tabaniformis(3))
Habitat
Found on flowers and about nest sites in woody plants.
Season
except winter months in temperate areas; adults overwinter
Food
pollen and nectar from wide range of sources.
This genus pierces the base of tubular Solanum and Fouqueiria splendens flowers and suck up the nectar without contacting the stamens or stigma a the flower opening. They are short tongued and rob many plant species.(4)
See Also
Internet References
Fact sheets: Grissell et al.(5) (FL spp.), Ebeling (2002) (western spp.)
Works Cited
1.Ascher J.S., Pickering J. (2024) Discover Life bee species guide and world checklist (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Anthophila)
2.The Bees in Your Backyard: A Guide to North America's Bees.
Joseph S. Wilson & Olivia J. Messinger Carril. 2015. Princeton University Press.
3.California Insects
Jerry A. Powell, Charles L. Hogue. 1989. University of California Press.
4.Insect Ecology: Behavior, Populations and Communities
P. W. Price, R. F. Denno, M. D. Eubanks. 2011. Cambridge University Press.
5.University of Florida: Featured Creatures
Contributed by Cotinis on 23 April, 2004 - 6:57am
Additional contributions by Beatriz Moisset, Chuck Entz, Mike Quinn, John S. Ascher, v belov, Marci Hess
Last updated 10 August, 2024 - 12:27pm

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