Bomboixylocopa

Taxonomy

Family: Apidae
Subfamily: Xylocopinae
Tribe: Xylocopini
Genus: Xylocopa
Subgenus: Bomboixylocopa, Maa 1939
Common name: Carpenter bee

Background

 Xylocopa (Bomboixylocopa) are medium to large sized bees, 15 – 30 mm in length, with females usually larger than the males. They have black integumentintegument:
a tough, protective outer layer
and thick pubescencepubescence:
short, fine hair
that varies in color from species to species. They often have two or more colors of hair on their bodies, with the hair on the metasomametasoma:
the posterior part of the body
and legs usually being pale. Their wings are yellow to brown and may have a violet iridescent color in bright light (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 (Bomboixylocopa) contains 5 species (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.).

Distribution

Xylocopa (Bomboixylocopa) is known from China and Taiwan (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

Not much is known about the floral associations of Xylocopa (Bomboixylocopa) but most members of the genus Xylocopa are generalist pollinators.

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.)

• Basitibial plate basitibial plate:
  a small plate at the base of the hind tibia, like a kneecap
  present and simple, arising much before the middle of the tibiatibia:
  the segment of the leg, between the femur and the tarsus
  .
• Eyes more convergent above than below.
• Ocelli low on face without laterallateral:
  relating, pertaining, or attached to the side
  swellings or ridges.
• Scutellum scutellum:
  shield shaped plate behind scutum
  unmodified, gently convexconvex:
  curved outward
  in profile.
• Male eyes enlarged.
• Male malar spacemalar space:
  the shortest distance between the base of the mandible and the margin of the compound eye
  short.
• Male first antennal segment longer than the combined length of the following three segments.
• Male tegulategula:
  the usually oval, small shield-like structure carried at the extreme base of the wing where it attaches to the body
  with posterolateral third impunctateimpunctate:
  marked with punctures or pits
  and shiny.
• Male anterioranterior:
  toward the head or on the head side of a segment being described
  coxal spine short.
• Female first antennal segment shorter than the combined length of the following three segments.
• Female mandibles bidentatebidentate:
  having two teeth
  .
• Female malar spacemalar space:
  the shortest distance between the base of the mandible and the margin of the compound eye
  long.
• 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
  without subapicalsubapical:
  located just behind the apex of the segment or body part
  laterallateral:
  relating, pertaining, or attached to the side
  spines.

May be confused with

This subgenus is the most similar to Xylocopa (Nyctomelitta). Females can be differentiated by their long malar spacemalar space:
the shortest distance between the base of the mandible and the margin of the compound eye
and the absence of subapicalsubapical:
located just behind the apex of the segment or body part
laterallateral:
relating, pertaining, or attached to the side
spines next to the 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
. Males can be differentiated by their smaller ocelliocelli:
simple light reception organs; bees have three of them at the top of their head
and the simple basitibial platebasitibial plate:
a small plate at the base of the hind tibia, like a kneecap
(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

The nesting behavior of most species in this subgenus are unknown (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.). The species Xylocopa (Bomboixylocopa) rufipes has been observed to nest in soft cedars, including the trusses of houses, woodsheds, and firewood piles (He et al. 2017He et al. 2017:
He, C. L., C.D. Zhu, Y.R. Wu. 2017. Morphology and nesting behavior of Xylocopa rufipes (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Acta Entomologica Sinica 60 (9): 1074-1082.).

Known invasives

There are no known invasives.

References

He, C. L., C.D. Zhu, Y.R. Wu. 2017. Morphology and nesting behavior of Xylocopa rufipes (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Acta Entomologica Sinica 60 (9): 1074-1082.

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.

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