California carpenter bee
| California carpenter bee Xylocopa californica | |
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| Species: | X. californica
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| Binomial name | |
| Xylocopa californica Cresson, 1864
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The California carpenter bee, Xylocopa californica, is a species of carpenter bee in the order Hymenoptera. It is native to western North America.[1]
Distribution
Xylocopa californica is typically found in California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Northwestern Mexico, with outlying records in Montana, Kansas, and Louisiana.[2] It is especially abundant, along with Xylocopa sonorina, in the Central Valley and in Southern California, including the Mojave Desert. They are agriculturally beneficial insects and pollinators of diverse California chaparral and woodlands and desert native plant species.[3][4] This carpenter bee is active during hot seasons.
Description
The California carpenter bee is all black, with bluish/greenish reflections. The males typically have at least a few light hairs on the pronotum (dorsal prothorax) and the abdominal segments.[5]
Subspecies
The species has three named subspecies, defined solely by coloration and geography:[1]
- Xylocopa californica arizonensis Cresson, 1879
- Xylocopa californica californica Cresson, 1864
- Xylocopa californica diamesa Hurd, 1954
See also
References
- ^ a b "Xylocopa californica". Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
- ^ X. californica distribution map at DiscoverLife
- ^ California Insects; Jerry A. Powell, Charles L. Hogue; 1989; University of California Press.
- ^ Discoverlife.org: Xylocopa californica
- ^ BugGuide.Net: Species − Xylocopa californica
External links
- Discoverlife.org: Photo gallery of Xylocopa californica (Western Carpenter Bee) — with list of host plants.
- BugGuide.Net: Xylocopa californica — Western Carpenter Bee — images.
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- Hymenoptera of North America
- Insects of Mexico
- Insects of the United States
- Fauna of California
- Fauna of the Southwestern United States
- Fauna of the California chaparral and woodlands
- Fauna of the Great Basin
- Fauna of the Mojave Desert
- Natural history of the Central Valley (California)
- Xylocopinae
- Insects described in 1864
- Taxa named by Ezra Townsend Cresson
- Bee stubs