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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 Xylocopoides (Xylocopa Subgenus Xylocopoides) » California Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa californica)

Species Xylocopa californica - California Carpenter Bee

Xylocopa - Xylocopa californica - female Arizona Carpenter Bee - Xylocopa californica - male Large Black Bee ? - Xylocopa californica - male Strange coloration, male Carpenter Bee? - Xylocopa californica - male Xylocopa - Valley or Western? - Xylocopa californica - male Carpenter Bee species? - Xylocopa californica black Xylocopa - Xylocopa californica - male Xylocopa californica? - 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.
Discover Life Map
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
Discover Life
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.
Contributed by Cotinis on 7 October, 2004 - 5:13am
Additional contributions by Beatriz Moisset, John S. Ascher, Harsi S. Parker, hg, PaleoJon
Last updated 1 January, 2023 - 11:27pm

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