Neoxylocopa

Taxonomy

Family: Apidae
Subfamily: Xylocopinae
Tribe: Xylocopini
Genus: Xylocopa
Subgenus: Neoxylocopa, Michener 1954Michener 1954:
Michener, C.D. 1954. The bees of Panama. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 104: 1ndash;176.
Common name: Carpenter bee

Background

Xylocopa (Neoxylocopa) are small to large, 13–30 mm, robust bees with sexually dimorphicdimorphic:
having two distinct forms
coloration. Males often have brick-red to yellowish integumentintegument:
a tough, protective outer layer
with thick, mostly ferruginousferruginous:
rust-colored
to pale yellow pubescencepubescence:
short, fine hair
. Females usually have black integumentintegument:
a tough, protective outer layer
, although they sometimes have reddish-brown bandsbands:
usually referring to bands of hair or bands of color that traverse across an abdominal segment
on their tergaterga:
the segments on the top side of the abdomen, often abbreviated when referring to a specific segment to T1, T2, T3, T4, T5, T6, or T7
. Their pubescencepubescence:
short, fine hair
can vary between species, but most tend to have primarily dark brown to black hair. Their wings also vary and can be light brown to black with various colors of iridescence (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 (Neoxylocopa) is the most diverse subgenus in the New WorldNew World:
the Western Hemisphere; especially the continental landmass of North and South America
and includes 50 species (Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.; Lucia and Abrahamovich 2010Lucia and Abrahamovich 2010:
Lucia, M. and A.H. Abrahamovich. 2010. A New Species of Large Carpenter Bee, Xylocopa (Hymenoptera: Apidae), from Argentina. Entomological News 121(3):243-248).

Distribution

Xylocopa (Neoxylocopa) ranges from northern Argentina and Chile up to the south-southwestern United States. It is native to the Antilles, the Bahamas, and Bermuda, and is thought to be native to the Galapagos and the Revillagigedo islands. One species, Xylocopa sonoria, is invasive to French Polynesia, Guam, Hawaii, the Marianas (Groom et al. 2017Groom et al. 2017:
Groom, S.V.C., M.I. Stevens, T. Ramage, M. P. Schwarz. 2017. Origins and implications of apid bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in French Polynesia. Entomological Science 20(1):65-75; Michener 2007Michener 2007:
Michener, C.D. 2007. The Bees of the World (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 953 pp.; 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.) and New Zealand (Manson 1988Manson 1988:
Manson, D.C.M. 1988. The occurrence of the carpenter bee, Xylocopa sonorina in New Zealand. Weta 11(1):4-5).

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

Host associations

Xylocopa (Neoxylocopa) are known to be generalist pollinators and don’t seem to show a preference for which plant families they visit (Hurd 1978Hurd 1978:
Hurd, P.D. 1978. An Annotated Catalog of the Carpenter Bees (Genus Xylocopa Latreille) of the Western Hemisphere (Hymenoptera: Anthophoridae). Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C. 106 pp.).

Nesting behavior

Xylocopa (Neoxylocopa) nests in a wide variety of dead and decaying woods. Some species are also known to be opportunistic when nesting, often taking refuge in wood or bamboo that already has a hole. They have been recorded nesting in structural timbers and the following woods. Alder, apple, apricot, balsa, bamboo, Bursea, Cedrella, cottonwood, Croton, eucalyptus, fig, hibiscus, lantana, Lippa, oak, organ pipe cactus (Stenocereus thurberi), Partitum, redwood, Sapinum, walnut, white pine (Pinus sp.) and Yucca (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.; Lucia et al. 2020Lucia et al. 2020:
Lucia, M., P.J. Ramello, V.H. Gonzalez. 2020. Brood development and nest parasitism of Xylocopa (Neoxylocopa) augusti Lepeletier (Hymenoptera: Apidae), a promising crop pollinator in Argentina. Journal of Applied Entomology 144(10):952-960; Manson 1988Manson 1988:
Manson, D.C.M. 1988. The occurrence of the carpenter bee, Xylocopa sonorina in New Zealand. Weta 11(1):4-5). Special care should be taken to prevent transmission of species from Xylocopa (Neoxylocopa). Their generalist and opportunistic nesting behaviors combined with their generalist pollination allows them to very easily become invasive. In many places, Xylocopa (Neoxylocopa) is considered a pest due to its ability to nest in structural timbers and other wooden structures, causing damage to the structure (Hurd 1978Hurd 1978:
Hurd, P.D. 1978. An Annotated Catalog of the Carpenter Bees (Genus Xylocopa Latreille) of the Western Hemisphere (Hymenoptera: Anthophoridae). Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C. 106 pp.).

Known invasives

Xylocopa (Neoxylocopa) sonoria is native to the western United States and was introduced to Hawaii sometime in the mid-1800s. Data indicates that it is a recent introduction to the east Pacific, with the first recorded specimen in New Zealand being from 1987 (Manson 1988Manson 1988:
Manson, D.C.M. 1988. The occurrence of the carpenter bee, Xylocopa sonorina in New Zealand. Weta 11(1):4-5). X. sonoria can be a nuisance for structural timbers. The most likely form of introduction is via lumber transport from the western United States. However, it is also possible that introduction in the past was not accidental. X. (N.) sonoria is one of the species known to be able to pollinate passionfruit (Passiflora edulis) which has become an important crop in many tropical regions and farmers may have introduced the bee to pollinate passionfruit or other crops (Groom et al. 2017Groom et al. 2017:
Groom, S.V.C., M.I. Stevens, T. Ramage, M. P. Schwarz. 2017. Origins and implications of apid bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in French Polynesia. Entomological Science 20(1):65-75).