Dasyxylocopa

Taxonomy

Background

Xylocopa (Dasyxylocopa) are small bees, 10 – 15 mm in length, with brilliantly metallic integumentintegument:
a tough, protective outer layer
. Males have thick, shaggy black pubescencepubescence:
short, fine hair
on their thorax, legs, and the underside of their abdomen and patches of white on the front leg to the underside of the head. Females are slightly less shaggy and tend to have a black to brownish black pubescencepubescence:
short, fine hair
. They have dark wings with violet iridescent color and amber tips (Hurd and Moure 1963Hurd and Moure 1963:
Hurd, P.D. and J.S. Moure. 1963. A Classification of the Large Carpenter Bees (Xylocopine) (Hymenoptera: Apoidea). University of California Publications in Entomology (Vol. 29). Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 365 pp.).

Diversity

Xylocopa (Dasyxylocopa) contains 3 species (Melo 2017Melo 2017:
Melo, A. R. 2017. Revision of the carpenter bee subgenus Xylocopa ( Dasyxylocopa ) (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Journal of Natural History 51(7): 1-12.).

Distribution

Xylocopa (Dasyxylocopa) can be found in southern Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina (Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.).

​Distribution map generated by Discover Life -- click on map for details, credits, and terms of use.

Host associations

Xylocopa (Dasyxylocopa) bimaculata has been listed as an important pollinator for Trembleya laniflora (Soares and Morellato 2018Soares and Morellato 2018:
Soares N. C., and L. P. C. Morellato. 2018. Crepuscular pollination and reproductive ecology of Trembleya laniflora (Melastomataceae), an endemic species in mountain rupestrian grasslands. Flora 238: 138-147.) and several South American crop species including Coffee arabica (Araújo et al. 2010).

Diagnostic characteristics

(modified from Hurd and Moure 1963Hurd and Moure 1963:
Hurd, P.D. and J.S. Moure. 1963. A Classification of the Large Carpenter Bees (Xylocopine) (Hymenoptera: Apoidea). University of California Publications in Entomology (Vol. 29). Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 365 pp.)

• Propodeal triangle present, well differentiated from the rest of the propodeumpropodeum:
  the last segment of the thorax
  .
• Male vertexvertex:
  the area between the ocelli and the back of the head
  strongly elevated above summits of the eyes.
• Male eyes always small, and not strongly convergent above.
• Male clypeusclypeus:
  a section of the face below the antennae, demarcated by the epistomal sutures
  invariably maculatedmaculated:
  spotted or made up of several marks
  with pale coloration
• Female ocelliocelli:
  simple light reception organs; bees have three of them at the top of their head
  below the summit of the eyes and without greatly elevated laterallateral:
  relating, pertaining, or attached to the side
  ridges or prominences adjacent to ocelliocelli:
  simple light reception organs; bees have three of them at the top of their head
  .
• Female eyes more convergent above than below.
• Female mandiblemandible:
  bee teeth, so to speak, usually crossed and folded in front of the mouth
  bidentatebidentate:
  having two teeth
  with lower tooth at least equal to, usually much wider than, upper tooth.
• Female labrumlabrum:
  part of the head abutting the clypeus, folds down in front of the mouthparts
  with three tubercles.
• Female clypeusclypeus:
  a section of the face below the antennae, demarcated by the epistomal sutures
  about half as long as broad.
• Female pygidial platepygidial plate:
  unusually flat area (a plate) surrounded by a ridge or line and sometimes sticking well off of the end of the bee; if present, found on the sixth upper abdominal segment in females, seventh in males
  with subapicalsubapical:
  located just behind the apex of the segment or body part
  laterallateral:
  relating, pertaining, or attached to the side
  spines present.

Nesting behavior

Xylocopa (Dasyxylocopa) has been observed to nest in the stems and branches of species in the Styracaceae family (Schlindwein 1998Schlindwein 1998:
Schlindwein, C. 1998. Frequent oligolecty characterizing a diverse beendash;plant community in a xerophytic bushland of subtropical Brazil. Studies on Neotropical Fauna and Environment 33(1): 46-59.).

Known invasives

There are no known invasives.

References

Araújo, V. A., A. P. A. Araújo, and Y. A. Itabaiana. 2010. Impact of resource availability on bee diversity. Sociobiology 55: 1-13.

Hurd, P.D. and J.S. Moure. 1963. A Classification of the Large Carpenter Bees (Xylocopine) (Hymenoptera: Apoidea). University of California Publications in Entomology (Vol. 29). Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 365 pp.

Keasar, T. 2010. Large Carpenter Bees as Agricultural Pollinators. Psyche doi:10.1155/2010/927463.

Melo, A. R. 2017. Revision of the carpenter bee subgenus Xylocopa (Dasyxylocopa) (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Journal of Natural History 51(7): 1-12.

Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.

Schlindwein, C. 1998. Frequent Oligolecty Characterizing a Diverse Bee–Plant Community in a Xerophytic Bushland of Subtropical Brazil. Studies on NeotropicalNeotropical:
biogeographic region that includes South and Central America, the Caribbean Islands, southern Florida, and the southern Mexican lowlands
Fauna and Environment 33(1): 46-59.

Soares N. C., and L. P. C. Morellato. 2018. Crepuscular pollination and reproductive ecology of Trembleya laniflora (Melastomataceae), an endemic species in mountain rupestrian grasslands. Flora 238: 138-147.