Maaiana

Taxonomy

Background

Xylocopa (Maaiana) are small bees, 10 – 15 mm in length, with dark brown to black integumentintegument:
a tough, protective outer layer
. They have thick, brown to dark yellow pubescencepubescence:
short, fine hair
on the thorax and the first and last few segments of the abdomen but appear to lack pubescencepubescence:
short, fine hair
elsewhere. The wings have a light brown color and a weak violet iridescent color (Krombein et al. 1976Krombein et al. 1976:
Krombein, K.V., P. B. Karunaratne, S. Karunaratne. 1976. Xylocopa ( Maaiana ) bentoni Cockerell. Smithsonian Specimen Inventory (USNMENT01606506).).

Diversity

Xylocopa (Maaiana) includes 5 species (Minckley 1998Minckley 1998:
Minckley, R. L. 1998. A Cladistic Analysis and Classification of the Subgenera and Genera of the Large Carpenter Bees, Tribe Xylocopini (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Natural History Museum, The University of Kansas 9: 1-47.).

Distribution

Xylocopa (Maaiana) are known from Sri Lanka and India (Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.).

<a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20m?w=1200&kind=Xylocopa+angulosa,Xylocopa+bentoni,Xylocopa+bicristata,Xylocopa+punctigena,Xylocopa+punctilabris" href="https://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20m?w=1200&kind=Xylocopa+angulosa,Xylocopa+bentoni,Xylocopa+bicristata,Xylocopa+punctigena,Xylocopa+punctilabris" _blank"="">
​Distribution map generated by Discover Life -- click on map for details, credits, and terms of use.

Host associations

Most members of the genus Xylocopa are generalist pollinators, meaning that they will pollinate almost any flower that they can fit into. Carpenter bees may also engage in nectar robbing, a behavior in which a hole is bored into the base of a flower to get access to its nectar (Keasar 2010Keasar 2010:
Keasar, T. 2010. Large Carpenter Bees as Agricultural Pollinators. Psyche doi:10.1155/2010/927463.). 

Diagnostic characteristics

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

• Ocelli with adjacent cariniform ridges or anterioranterior:
  toward the head or on the head side of a segment being described
  ocellus bounded on either side by impunctateimpunctate:
  marked with punctures or pits
  swelling.
• First submarginal cross vein strongly slanting.
• Scutum scutum:
  the large segment on top of the thorax located between the wings and behind the head
  narrowly impunctateimpunctate:
  marked with punctures or pits
  medially.
• Scutellum scutellum:
  shield shaped plate behind scutum
  narrowly rounded or subangulatesubangulate:
  Almost angulate; having a suggestion of corners or angles &nbsp;
  in profile and not overhanging the metanotummetanotum:
  the posterior dorsal segment of the thorax, behind the scutellum
  .
• Hind tibiatibia:
  the segment of the leg, between the femur and the tarsus
  with one apicalapical:
  near or at the apex or end of any structure
  tooth.
• Male first flagellar segment considerably longer than combined lengths of succeeding two segments.
• Male eyes enlarged, maximum width of eye in frontal view equal to or usually greater than minimum upper interocular distance.
• Male labrumlabrum:
  part of the head abutting the clypeus, folds down in front of the mouthparts
  with emarginateemarginate:
  a notched or cut out place in an edge or margin, can be dramatic or simply a subtle inward departure from the general curve or line of the margin or structure being described
  apicalapical:
  near or at the apex or end of any structure
  margin.
• Female mandiblemandible:
  bee teeth, so to speak, usually crossed and folded in front of the mouth
  bidentatebidentate:
  having two teeth
  .
• Female basitibial platebasitibial plate:
  a small plate at the base of the hind tibia, like a kneecap
  bifid, arising well beyond middle of tibiatibia:
  the segment of the leg, between the femur and the tarsus
  .
• 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.

May be confused with

Xylocopa (Maaiana) is very similar to X. (Nodula), which it was previously included under. They can be distinguished by the shape of the scutellumscutellum:
shield shaped plate behind scutum
, which is narrowly rounded or subangulatesubangulate:
Almost angulate; having a suggestion of corners or angles &nbsp;
in profile and not overhanging the metanotummetanotum:
the posterior dorsal segment of the thorax, behind the scutellum
(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.).

Nesting behavior

Under their previous designation, subgenus Nodula, members of Xylocopa (Maaiana) were recorded nesting in dry rhododendron branches that were approximately 2-5 cm thick (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.).

Known invasives

There are no known invasives.

References

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.

Krombein, K.V., P. B. Karunaratne, S. Karunaratne. 1976. Xylocopa (Maaiana) bentoni Cockerell. Smithsonian Specimen Inventory (USNMENT01606506).

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

Minckley, R. L. 1998. A Cladistic Analysis and Classification of the Subgenera and Genera of the Large Carpenter Bees, Tribe Xylocopini (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Natural History Museum, The University of Kansas 9: 1-47.