'Eastern Carpenter Bee'
Male Xylocopa virginica on Redbud (Cercis canadensis)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Hymenoptera Suborder: Apocrita Superfamily: Apoidea Family: Apidae Subfamily: Xylocopinae Genus: Xylocopa Subgenus: (Xylocopoides) Species: X. virginica
Binomial name
Xylocopa virginica Linnaeus, 1771
Subspecies
X. v. krombeini X. v. texana X. v. virginica Eastern Carpenter Bee File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Species see text Cercis, the Redbuds, is a genus of about 6-10 species in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae, native to warm-temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. ... Binomial name Cercis canadensis Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis) is a large shrub or small tree in the pea family Fabaceae, native to eastern North America from southern Canada south to northern United States. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. ... Digimon, the only known animals. ... Subphyla and Classes Subphylum Trilobitomorpha Trilobita - Trilobites (extinct) Subphylum Chelicerata Arachnida - Spiders, Scorpions, etc. ... Orders Subclass Apterygota Symphypleona - globular springtails Subclass Archaeognatha (jumping bristletails) Subclass Dicondylia Monura - extinct Thysanura (common bristletails) Subclass Pterygota Diaphanopteroidea - extinct Palaeodictyoptera - extinct Megasecoptera - extinct Archodonata - extinct Ephemeroptera (mayflies) Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) Infraclass Neoptera Blattodea (cockroaches) Mantodea (mantids) Isoptera (termites) Zoraptera Grylloblattodea Dermaptera (earwigs) Plecoptera (stoneflies) Orthoptera (grasshoppers, crickets... Suborders Apocrita Symphyta Many families, see article Hymenoptera is one of the larger orders of Insects, comprising the sawflies, wasps, bees, and ants. ... Superfamilies Apoidea Ceraphronoidea Chalcidoidea Chrysidoidea Cynipoidea Evanioidea Ichneumonoidea Megalyroidea Proctotrupoidea Sphecoidea Stephanoidea Triganalyoidea Vespoidea Many families, see article Apocrita is a suborder of insects in the order Hymenoptera. ... Families Andrenidae Anthophoridae Apidae Colletidae Ctenoplectridae Halictidae Heterogynaidae Megachilidae Melittidae Oxaeidae Sphecidae Stenotritidae This article is about the insect. ... Subfamilies Apinae - Honeybees Bombinae - Bumblebees Euglossinae - Orchid bees Meliponinae - Stingless bees Nomadinae Xylocopinae - Carpenter bees The Apidae are a large family of bees, comprising the common honeybees, stingless bees (which are also cultured for honey), carpenter bees, and bumblebees. ... Genera Many Carpenter bees (Xylocopinae subfamily) are important pollinators, especially of open-faced flowers, though they are also known to rob nectar by boring holes in the sides of flowers with deep corollas (thus not accomplishing pollination). ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal method of naming species. ... Carolus Linnaeus, also known after his ennoblement as  , (May 23, 1707[1] – January 10, 1778), was a Swedish botanist, physician and zoologist[2] who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of nomenclature. ...

The common Eastern carpenter bee, (Xylocopa virginica), is the carpenter bee most often encountered in the eastern United States. It is often mistaken for a large bumblebee species, as they are similar in size and coloring. They can be important pollinators, especially of open-faced flowers, though they are also known to "rob" nectar by boring holes in the sides of flowers with deep corollas (thus not accomplishing pollination). They sometimes bore holes in wood dwellings and can become minor pests. They use chewed wood bits to form partitions between the cells in the nest. Genera Many Carpenter bees (Xylocopinae subfamily) are important pollinators, especially of open-faced flowers, though the larger species are also known to rob nectar by boring holes in the sides of flowers with deep corollas (thus not accomplishing pollination). ... Species more than 250 species and subspecies in 37 subgenera Bumblebees (also spelled bumble bee, also known as humblebee) are flying insects of the genus Bombus in the family Apidae. ... A pollinator is the agent that moves pollen from the male anthers of a flower to the female stigma of a flower to accomplish fertilization or syngamy of the female gamete in the ovule of the flower by the male gamete from the pollen grain. ... In Greek mythology, nectar and ambrosia are the food of the gods. ... Corolla can be: A Latin-language term for crown The Toyota Corolla, a model of automobile manufactured by Toyota The corolla is one whorl of the perianth of a flower and composed of petals The town of Corolla, North Carolina This is a disambiguation page, a list of pages that...

Appearance

Female X. virginica

The primary difference in the appearances of a bumblebee and X. virginica is the shiny black abdomen

The most visible physical difference (at a glance) between this species and a bumblebee is the abdomen. Eastern carpenter bees have a shiny black abdomen, with the only yellow hair present being at the base next to the thorax, while bumblebees have a very fuzzy abdomen, which in some species has large areas of yellow hair across the middle (this is visible and obvious). The female eastern carpenter bee also has a much broader head than bumblebees. Eastern carpenter bees can be sexed at a glance. Males have a patch of white cuticle on the face, as opposed to females, whose faces are black. Males are unable to sting. [1] File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... [1] File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (836 × 627 pixel, file size: 168 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) A carpenter bee flying around my mailbox, in Montgomery Alabama File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (836 × 627 pixel, file size: 168 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) A carpenter bee flying around my mailbox, in Montgomery Alabama File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old... Species more than 250 species and subspecies in 37 subgenera Bumblebees (also spelled bumble bee, also known as humblebee) are flying insects of the genus Bombus in the family Apidae. ... The abdomen is a part of the body. ...

Nesting

Male prepared to mate or ward off other males

Female carpenter bees make nests by tunneling into wood. They make an initial upward hole in an overhang. Then, they make one or more horizontal tunnels. Unlike termites, carpenter bees (also called woodcutters) do not eat wood. They discard the bits of wood, or use them to make partitions (walls) inside the tunnels of their nests. The tunnel functions as a nursery for brood and the pollen/nectar upon which the brood subsists. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (3264 × 2448 pixel, file size: 2. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (3264 × 2448 pixel, file size: 2. ...

Males will visit flowers only to feed themselves, spending the rest of the time hovering in its territory, and investigating any movement. Females spend the majority of their time gathering nectar and pollen to provision their nests.

The female bee pushes castings out of the entranceway and maintains the hibernaculum

Because of their value as pollinators some people allow carpenter bees to stay around the home in the early spring, living with the cosmetic damage caused. In some fruit growing areas carpenter bee populations are encouraged by supplying them with suitable blocks or boards of soft wood. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (1280 × 960 pixel, file size: 560 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)PixOnTrax I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (1280 × 960 pixel, file size: 560 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)PixOnTrax I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ...

A stoppered hibernaculum

In the eastern U.S., Xylocopa virginica overwinter as adults inside the same tunnels where they hatched that summer. In spring, they awaken. The males hover around looking for mates. The female enlarges the existing tunnel, or moves nearby and bores a new tunnel. She creates separate partitions in the tunnel out of sawdust and saliva. She provisions each section with a pastelike wad of pollen and nectar, lays one egg on it, and seals it off. She makes many of these partitioned cells, with as few as 1 and as many as 20. Each cell contains a mass of pollen and nectar onto which a single egg is laid. The egg hatches into a grub-like larva which eats the pollen mass. It then turns into a pupa, which hatches into an adult bee in mid- to late summer. The newly hatched adults break through the partitions and crawl over each other to escape to the outside world. However, they do not then disperse, but continue to live in the tunnel, preparing to hibernate. Thus, the piece of wood is inhabited by bees year-round. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (1280 × 960 pixel, file size: 455 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)PixOnTrax I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (1280 × 960 pixel, file size: 455 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)PixOnTrax I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ...

Rarely, active nests in a home can involve considerable damage, but woodpeckers normally are the primary cause of it, as they search out larval bees.

A pair of carpenter bees. The nearby hole is the opening to their nest

Carpenter bee nests are rather easy to spot. They bore a highly polished hole about 1cm in diameter directly up into the bottom a nesting substrate (usually an eave, picnic bench or similar wood structure. When the female is boring tunnels, there is a collection of fresh sawdust below the hole and the sound of boring can be easily heard. One can often see yellowish splashes of waste below the entrance, produced by the bee just as she flies out. Download high resolution version (1890x903, 198 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Download high resolution version (1890x903, 198 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ...

Deterrence

Pollinator decline is a serious environmental issue and carpenter bees are being valued increasingly as important pollinators. Pollinator decline is based on observations made at the end of the twentieth century of the reduction in abundance of pollinators in many ecosystems worldwide. ...

Carpenter bees can be prevented from making nests in valuable wood by painting or staining. Paint is a better deterrent than stain, but bare wood is very inviting to a bee looking for a place to start a new nest. In unusual cases where carpenter bees persist in spite of paint, the edge of the wood can be covered with a narrow strip of flashing or screening, and painted, thus providing a physical barrier.

The eastern carpenter bee is faithful to its home, preferring to lay eggs in the same hole it was born in and hibernated in. Females who leave the natal tunnel prefer to live nearby, often digging a new hole a few inches away in the same piece of wood. Over many years, the bees may almost completely hollow out a single board, or a few boards, without ever touching adjacent pieces. Thus, carpenter bee habitations tend to remain clumped in one area. Because each female produces only a few young bees each year, their numbers grow slowly.

Since previous nests are the primary nests each year, blocking or poisoning nests can often backfire on the homeowner, by encouraging the carpenter bee to bore new nests. Over time the burrowing of these new holes may weaken structures.

An alternative means of preventing nesting in valuable wood is to attract the bees to another location by propping a beam of attractive bare wood where you would prefer the bees to stay. The theory is that the bees will build their nests in the wood you supply for them and stay away from your house. Often, an old wooden shed or barn sustains a population of carpenter bees.

Behavior

Carpenter bees are not solitary bees, but are not truly social either. The weak form of sociality they exhibit, with one female doing the majority of the work, and caring for her sisters, may be a transitionary step in the evolution of sociality. However they tend to be gregarious, and often several will nest near each other.

Male eastern carpenter bees are curious and will investigate anyone, including humans, that comes near their nests. The curiosity is often interpreted as aggressiveness; however, the males are only aggressive to other male carpenter bees. They do not have stingers and cannot cause any real harm. The female carpenter bees tend to be busy with floral visitation and nest provisioning, but have the ability to cause a painful sting if captured.

Males spend many hours guarding their territory against other males, hovering about the nests for hours on sunny days. They sometimes attempt to mate with other insects or small birds.

An interesting trick to use to "move" a male carpenter bee out of the way is to pick up a small pebble (roughly the size of the bee), then toss it past the bee. They will attempt to chase it, distracting them for a few moments, long enough for a human to get by. However, since they cannot sting, and rarely accord any attention to humans, this is unnecessary.

Carpenter bees are strong fliers, capable of returning to their nests from some miles away, but not very agile. This can be rather amusing when you hear a *ping* on your window and see a bee flying away. They tend to be clumsy, frequently almost crashing into the side of a wall or various trees and plants. On occasions, the bees will fly into old windows made of plexy glass, as UV light can pass through it and the bee sees it as open.

Carpenter bees are not aggressive. Often, a carpenter bee preoccupied with something will not sting or flee when approached closely or even touched by a human, but merely raise one or two of its legs in the air instead.

Eastern carpenter bee male showing large eyes, white face and mouthparts