Valley Carpenter Bee
Xylocopa sonorina
Apidae
Xylocopa
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 Describe your image |  Describe your image |
Description
Xylocopa sonorina is a very large bee (18-26 mm in length) – a distinguishing feature in itself - with an inflated-looking abdomen (broader than the thorax). The female bee is dark-bodied with a shiny, but not metallic, abdomen (see first 2 photos, top-left). Wings of the female are dark, with a purplish and coppery tinge. Their mandibles have two teeth. Male bees are distinctly different, as they are covered in blonde/tan hair (“flying teddy-bears”) and have green eyes (see photos, top-right).
Nectar/
Pollen Plants
This bee is a pollen generalist, often “stealing” nectar by biting into the corolla of narrow flowers in order to gain access They also go into larger flowers.
Habits
These bees nest in holes in untreated dead wood such as fence posts, building structures and telephone poles. Females chew out tunnels that are 15-25 cm deep. Each cell in the tunnel receives a pollen/nectar ball and at least one egg. Larvae pupate, emerge and hibernate in their nest cells during the winter.
Season
March – September (Uncommon on Mount Diablo)
