Xylocopa virginica (Linnaeus, 1771) Commonly known as the “Eastern Carpenter Bee”
Length: Up to 20mm.
This Bee originates from North America and into Canada. Many fruit growers helped to introduce Xylocopa virginica into their orchards, by setting up artificial nesting sites. Also, they are imported into Europe with the same intentions.
Carpenter Bees can be found over most of Europe and Asia. They can cause substantial damage to wood if infestations go undetected for several years.
The "Carpenter bee" name derives from their nesting behaviour; nearly all species burrow into hard plant material, such as dead wood.
Xylocopa is not an aggressive bee species, the male bee does not have a stinger, although the female does, but very unlikely she will use it; unless she feels threatened.
Flight Season …February to November. (Hibernated females can emerge in late winter).
Habitat: Widespread and varied, coastal, grasslands, orchards, vineyards, and gardens.
Behaviour: This is not a solitary bee species, on the other hand, it is not truly a social bee either. As they practice both methods of nesting. The females within the social nest have different roles, usually the older females are the primary females and will be responsible for the reproduction by laying most of the eggs. The younger females will assist mainly with nest maintenance and caring for the larvae, although some of the more mature females will gradually replace the primary females, especially over the winter months. They will then automatically become the primary females the following year.
Nesting: Will be constructed mainly in all manners of dead wood, from trees to all types of untreated or poorly maintained human wooden structures, including furniture. Inside the nesting holes, the females will use wood scrapings from the internal wall surfaces, to create partitions between the nesting cells. Social nests are more common and usually have up to four tunnels served by one main entrance. Social nests usually have four or five females participating within the nest.
Males will guard close to an active nest entrance to protect the colony and will seek mating opportunities in his established territory.
Carpenter Bees do not eat wood, they feed on a wide range of flowering shrubs and plants for pollen and nectar. They are very important pollinators for a number of plants, their short mouthparts are able to pollinate open-faced or shallow flowers. The maypop (Passiflora incarnata, known as the passion flower) and Orphium, depend on the carpenter bee as they are not pollinated by any other insect. Carpenter bees are also important pollinators of flowers with various forms of lids, such as Salvia species and some members of the Fabaceae.
The main bird predators are woodpeckers, Bee-eaters, and shrikes. Woodpeckers are attracted to the noise of the bee larvae; with their powerful beak they are able to extract the bee larvae from their cells. Large species of Asilidae (Robber-flies) prey on the adult bees, Bee-flies and the Parasitoid wasp species also capitalise from the Carpenter Bee.