virginica, mating occurs only once a year, in the spring. The female bee pushes castings out of the entranceway and maintains the hibernaculum. Because the nests are costly to build, it is common for females to reuse old nests. They have multiple branches, with each adult female living and laying eggs in a separate branch but females sharing one common entrance. The nests are usually round and typically have one to four tunnels. virginica is the most common large carpenter bee in eastern North America, and it nests in small groups, so nests are fairly commonly encountered. virginica builds its nests in wood structures, it is common for it to nest in constructed furniture or buildings. Social nests are more common, despite the fact that brood productivity is actually lower when females choose to nest together. These nests may be either social, containing groups of two to five females, or solitary. The entrance cuts into the wood perpendicular to the grain, but they are built parallel beyond the entrance. These shavings are then used to create partitions between nesting cells. The nests are built by scraping wood shavings off of the wall. virginica build their nests in wood, bamboo culms, agave stalks, and other comparable materials, but they prefer to nest in milled pine or cedar lumber. virginica is the conspicuously shining black abdomen. The primary difference in the appearances of a bumblebee and X. virginica is found throughout much of North America east of the Rocky Mountains and at least as far north as Nebraska, southern Ontario, and Maine. virginica belongs to the genus Xylocopa, which consists of over 400 species worldwide, in the subgenus Xylocopoides, which contains only 5 New World species, including Xylocopa californica, which also occurs in the U.S. Bees with sharp galae can use these to further aid in penetrating the corolla tubes. Eastern carpenter bees also have galae on their maxillae that are shaped like large, flat blades. Their maxillae are sharp and wedge-shaped, allowing them to split the side of corolla tubes externally to access the nectar. virginica have distinctive maxillae that are adapted to performing perforations on corolla tubes to reach nectaries. Primary females are larger than secondary or tertiary females, and also have more mandibular and wing wear. Females of different social standing can also be told apart based on morphology. Additionally, the males have larger thoracic volumes for given masses. The males also have a white spot on their face. virginica males and females have generally the same mass, but can be differentiated visually by the male's longer body and the female's wider head. If you are concerned about carpenter bees taking up residence around your home, you can protect wood surfaces by keeping it coated with polyurethane or an oil-based paint.The bee is similar in size to bumblebees, but has a glossy, mostly black body with a slight metallic purple tint. She will then drill a 1-inch hole into the wood before making a right angle and excavating a gallery that is on average between 4 to 6 inches long. When excavating a new nest, the foundress female carpenter bee will drill an entrance hole that is nearly perfectly round and is approximately ½ inch in diameter. These bees prefer to nest in weathered wood, such as siding of a building, fence posts, decks, and eaves. As a downside other bees will access the nectar through these openings and the flower will not get pollinated.Ĭarpenter bees are solitary insects, meaning that there is only one active bee per nest that is responsible for the variety of tasks needed to maintain the nest. Instead they cut an opening at the base of the flower to access the nectar, effectively becoming “nectar robbers”. Due to their large size, carpenter bees often cannot reach a flower’s nectar source. This behavior is often referred to as “buzz pollination”. Like bumblebees, they use sonication to vibrate and loosen the pollen from a flower’s anthers. However, you will most likely notice the larger carpenter bees.Ĭarpenter bees are generalists, meaning that they feed on, and therefore pollinate, a variety of plants and crops. You may even come across some species of carpenter bees that are smaller and have a shiny, metallic blue-black or green and purple coloration. On the other hand, their thorax is very hairy and can have yellow, orange, or white coloration depending on the species. One distinguishing characteristic is that carpenter bees have a shiny black abdomen that has few hairs. Xylocopa micans (Photo credit: USGS Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab)Ĭarpenter bees are large pollinators (approximately ¾ to 1 inch in length) that are often mistaken for bumblebees and vice versa.
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