Galapagos Carpenter Bee
May 11, 2010
When I saw your posts about the Valley Carpenter Bee and the similar carpenter bee from Guam, I knew you’d want to see this Galapagos Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa darwinii). My husband Tom captured the last moments of this male carpenter bee being eaten by a lava lizard! The Galapagos Carpenter Bees are dimorphic also, with black females and golden brown males. Our guide said we were very lucky to see the males, since they don’t stick around very long. This photo was taken on January 23, 2010.
Mary
Santa Cruz, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
Galapagos Carpenter Bee eaten by Lava Lizard
Dear Mary,
What an awesome Food Chain image you have submitted. It is also nice to get an image of a species closely related to our Southern California Valley Carpenter Bee. The males have a much shorter life span than the females because the females may take up to several months to gather enough pollen to provision a nest for approximately six offspring.
What is this cute bug?
April 24, 2010
Hello, I was sitting on my porch when I herd something fall from the tree in my yard. I went over to see what it was and saw this cute bug struggling to get on it’s feet. It was brown, furry and about 2 inches in size. I do a lot of macro photography and I need to identify this bug for my photo site.
Thanks, Heather
Guam
Carpenter Bee
Hi Heather,
WE were surprised to see your letter is from Guam, because we were all ready to identify your bee as a male Valley Carpenter Bee, a common species in Southern California that exhibits sexual dimorphism. Females are black and males are a lovely golden color with green eyes. We are confident your bee is a Carpenter Bee, and we would bet that it is also a male and that it might be a close relative of the Valley Carpenter Bee, Xylocopa varipuncta, though of that species BugGuide indicates: “Female is black with brassy reflections, perhaps. Male is a striking tawny brown. Apparently, no other Xylocopa are so sexually dimorphic.“
Orchid Bee in North Carolina?
April 21, 2010
Hi WTB!
I love your site! I can finally ask someone about the critters I’ve been photographing in my yard. This little green bee was crawling on a lighter on my table one day. It was beautiful and I just had to find out what kind it was. At first I thought it was a Green Metallic Bee, but it didn’t look exactly like one. Then I thought maybe it was an Orchid Bee, but I didn’t think they came as far north as Charlotte, NC. Could you please tell me what kind of bee this is? I’d love to see more of them in my garden. Maybe if I plant their favorite flowers they’ll stick around!
Thanks so much. This site is in my top 10 favorite sites ever!
Rebecca White
Charlotte, NC
Metallic Sweat Bee
Dear Rebecca,
This is a Metallic Sweat Bee, probably in the genus Augochlorini, though the family Halictidae is quite confusing for us. We matched your bee to a photo on BugGuide. BugGuide also indicates that it is difficult to differentiate between the three genera Ausochlora, Augochlorella and Augochloropsis.Thank you so much for your passionate and complimentary letter. BugGuide indicates that “Adults found on flowers” and they eat “Pollen and nectar and aphid’s honeydew.“ Alas BugGuide does not indicate which flowers will attract the Metallic Sweat Bees. Here in Los Angeles, we see them on cardoon or wild artichoke, Cynara cardunculus. These large thistles have a reputation as invasive exotic plants that compromise our native habitat, but like so many problematic species, they have some endearing qualities, including that they are edible. Here is an excerpt of a piece we wrote on the cardoon in the Mount Washington Homeowners Alliance newsletter in January 2010: “Perhaps a better and tastier way to control the population of the Cardoon is to eat it. The buds are much smaller than traditional artichokes, though they can be prepared in a similar manner before they open. The more feasible part of the plant to eat though is the midrib of the leaf that tastes much like the traditional artichoke. The website www.gardening-guy.com has several recipes for the preparation of Cardoon, including a dish called bagna cauda that translates loosely to “hot bath” and involves spearing and cooking cubes of beef and other vegetables in hot oil in a manner similar to fondue. I plan to pick some of the leaves growing on “dirt” Burnell this spring and steaming them to eat with aioli, that is unless one of you readers beats me to the harvest.“ Other plants that will attract Metallic Sweat Bees include Echinacea and any of the composite flowers like Rudbeckia, cosmos, sunflowers and daisies.
Metallic Sweat Bee
Hi Dan
Thank you so much for clearing that up for me and for the awesome information on the types of plants that would attract the Metallic Sweat Bee. I’m delighted that the Echinacea, Sunflowers, Daisies and Cosmos I planted in my garden this year will bring more of them around! I haven’t seen any wild artichoke anywhere but as it is an invasive species, that is probably a good thing. I’ve been careful to only plant natives in my garden, so hopefully the Echinacea and others will be enough to keep the little guys busy.
Thank you again for responding – and so promptly too! You guys are the BEST!
Rebecca
What type of bee?
April 13, 2010
We have three apple trees right next to our home and was outside looking for honey bees. I saw a few but mainly saw this type of bee. I have looked through some pics but can’t really determine which one it is. Any information would be appreciated.
Calvin
Salem, Indiana
Mining Bees
Hi Calvin,
We believe these are Mining Bees in the genus Andrena, but we would defer to an expert in this matter. According to BugGuide: “They have facial foveae. This describes the pale bands of hair along the inside margins of the eyes. Actually, the facial foveae are the ‘grooves’ in the face from which those hairs emanate.” BugGuide also indicates: “Considering the large number of similar-looking species, identification to species level usually requires an expert. Andrena are more active than Apis at lower temperatures. For this and other reasons Andrena (and Osmia…) can be, on a per bee basis, superior pollinators in cold weather. Some species such as Andrena clarkella are exceptionally cold tolerant.“
Mining Bee
¶ Posted 14 April 2010 § ‡ ° male and female eastern carpenter bees?
April 5, 2010
Wonderful site, I’ve been enjoying it for years now.
We have these bees every year in the spring, hovering mostly in one place near our shed and fence, but agressively chasing each other.
They seem to nest in the underside of the wooden rafters of the shed in little holes, new ones each year, with little piles of sawdust underneath.
My kids are terrified of them (and insist that they are bumblebees), but really they don’t seem agressive and let me walk right up to them.
This year, however, we found two dead ones. That’s never happened before. When I realized one was male and one female I rearranged them, so you could see the faces side by side. Do they kill one another? or do you think something else did them in?
Sara
Central New Jersey
Carpenter Bees: Male on Right
Hi Sara,
You are absolutely correct. These are Eastern Carpenter Bees, and we are happy that you are showing the black faced female next to the white or yellow faced male. We suspect some blood sucking predator may have preyed upon your bees, and we are certain they were not killed by one another. It is kind of early in the year for a predator like the Bee Killer Robber Fly, so we really don’t have a theory on what the assassin may have been.
What type of Bee is this?
March 31, 2010
I have searched all morning trying to figure out what type of bee this is, but no luck yet. Everything points to a Carpenter Bee, but I don’t think it is. They are swarming our patio, we live on the 4th floor of a Condo. All have the yellow marking.
Thanks, Mary
Hilton Head Island,South Carolina
Eastern Carpenter Bee
Hi Mary,
This is an Eastern Carpenter Bee, Xylocopa virginica, and according to BugGuide: “Large, black hairless abdomen, yellow pile on thorax. Males have yellow/white face. Common in eastern North America, and the only member of its genus in much of range.“ The light face on your individual makes it a male.
Eastern Carpenter Bee
Is this a Beetle?
March 23, 2010
Hey there,
I was out in my backyard in Glendale, Arizona when I stumbled on this odd looking bug.
What exactly is it? Is it dangerous in any way? I searched your site and googled a description, but I couldn’t find any info on this bug.
Thanks for your time!
Joe
Glendale, AZ (USA)
Valley Carpenter Bee
Hi Joe,
This is a perfectly harmless male Valley Carpenter Bee.
Thank you for the quick reply!!
Man, that bee is huge! I’ve never seen one like that before.
Thanks again, we were a little nervous because we have a 2 year old who runs around a lot in the back yard.
Joe
Valley Carpenter Bee?
March 18, 2010
Found this beautiful carpenter bee pillaging my flower garden. I’m pretty sure it’s a valley carpenter bee, but thought you might like the pics…
David
Los Angeles, CA
Valley Carpenter Bee
Hi David,
You are correct in your identification of this female Valley Carpenter Bee. We currently have several gathering nectar from our wisteria, and when the sweet peas bloom, they gather nectar from them as well. We have yet to see a golden male this year.
Valley Carpenter Bee
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