Valley Carpenter Bee

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Male Eastern Carpenter Bee

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

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¶ Posted 31 March 2010 § ‡ Comments (1) °

Male Valley 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

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¶ Posted 24 March 2010 § ‡ Comments (0) °

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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¶ Posted 18 March 2010 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Blue Carpenter Bee from Malaysia

A blue bumble bee.
February 12, 2010
Is there such a type of bee?
kF TUNG
Malaysia

Blue Carpenter Bee

Dear kF TUNG,
This is a gorgeous bee. We will try to identify it properly, but until then, we want to post it and see if our readers have any luck with identification.

Hello Mr.Marlos,
Perhaps a few more photos of the blue bee to help you and your readers to better identify it.
KFTung.

Blue Carpenter Bee from Malaysia

Thanks KFTung,
We are thrilled to post the additional images of this gorgeous blue bee, but we doubt they will assist us in the identification. We spent a goodly amount of time searching the web in vain, and we are going to have to depend on assistance from our readers. Your photos are great. The only images of a Blue Bee we found were not your species, nor were they anywhere near as gorgeous as your insect.

Blue Carpenter Bee from Malaysia

Daniel:
So sorry I’m falling behind in keeping up with the posts….
The blue bee from Malaysia is a carpenter bee, Xylocopa caerulea. Magnificent images of a gorgeous insect!
Eric

Thanks Eric,
Armed with a name, we were able to locate a website that says: “Carpenter bee
A large bee, reaching slightly more than 23mm. Female is mainly black. The thorax is covered with light blue hairs, making it almost fully blue except for a small black patch in the centre. The first abdominal segment and sides of the abdomen are also lined with similar but finer and more sparse blue hairs. I am not srre of what the male looks like, although he is supposed to be similar but lighter in body colour with long blue hairs on part of his head!
This species is apparently quite widely distributed across Southeast Asia, as well as India and parts of China (Yunnan, Guangxi, Hainan).
This beautiful and distinctive carpenter bee is apparently found in Singapore; I have sighted it in MacRitchie Reservoir once, but was unable to catch it since I was inside the nature trail, where capturing anything is explicitly forbidden. I have also not been able to photograph it; it has been photographed a couple of times by local photographers. Having only seen it once and only for a few seconds, I hope to be able to learn more about its behaviour and nest sites in future, and to also photograph it.”

¶ Posted 12 February 2010 § ‡ Comments (2) ° Tagged: Unidentified

Valley Carpenter Bee nest we believe

Yellow and Black Burrowing Bee Like Insect
February 8, 2010
Hello,
I was doing yard work and picked up a broken branch there was a significant vibration and sound of swarming bees from the branch. I broke it open and there where these beetle like bee insects inside. I have attached a photo but unfortunately only got this one photo. They were quite large, larger then any large bee like insect here that I have ever seen.
Matt
Scottsdale Arizona

Valley Carpenter Bee nest, we suppose

Hi Matt,
It is difficult to distinguish details in your photo that would assist in the proper identification, but based on your description, we believe you discovered the nest of a Valley Carpenter Bee. The female creates a series of chambers in a burrowed tunnel in a branch, and she provisions each chamber with pollen and lays an egg. Female Valley Carpenter Bees are black and the males are a golden yellow. You subject line does not indicate if the insects are each yellow and black, or if there are different colored insects, and your photo has what appears to be a golden male Valley Carpenter Bee about to emerge.

add Valley Carpenter Bee nest we believe

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¶ Posted 09 February 2010 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Digger Bee

Is this a bee?
September 7, 2009
This insect was photographed in in early September, it looks a lot like a digger bee but it’s eyes are brown and not green. I have searched the net and all of my bug books but can’t ID it! Help!
Thanks, Rhonda
Tucson, AZ

Digger Bee

Hi Rhonda,
Our first inclination is that this is some species of Carpenter Bee, but it doesn’t match the images on BugGuide. We will check with Eric Eaton who may be able to assist in the ID.

Correction from Eric Eaton
Daniel:
Wow, what a fantastic image of a very active bee, a female in the genus Centris, family
Apidae. I hope Rhonda considers posting this to Bugguide, as we have few high-quality images of this genus. Dr. John Ascher is an expert on bees, and he visits Bugguide frequently.. He could probably identify this specimen to species. Centris bees are solitary, like the overwhelming majority of native bee species, each female digging her own nest burrow.
Eric

Daniel,
Thanks for the prompt reply- and thank you and Eric Eaton for the ID- wonder how he knew it is female, amazing! If you want to post this image to Bugguide, you have my permission to do so, if you need a higher res photo just let me know (please include photo credits). Thank you again for the help.
Rhonda Spencer

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¶ Posted 08 September 2009 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Male Valley Carpenter Bee

Kind of Cicada?
September 1, 2009
Dear Bugman,
This bug appeared in my backyard for the first time this year. We’ve lived in the house for 6 years. My wife though bee family, I’m thinking cicada. Verdict?
Mickey
Encino, CA

Valley Carpenter Bee

Hi Mickey,
This golden green-eyed male Valley Carpenter Bee differs significantly from his sexually dimorphic, black mate. The larger female Valley Carpenter Bee lives longer and visits flowers to gather pollen and nectar to feed her brood.

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¶ Posted 01 September 2009 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Chinese Mantid eats Carpenter Bee

Chinese mantis feeds on carpenter bee
August 13, 2009
Hi bugman! I took these shots about a year ago and have been meaning to send them to you. I was sitting on my porch and saw some something moving in my mom’s garden. Then I went down to check it out and to my surprise there was this little guy eating a carpenter bee. I hope you like my pics. P.S. Love your site!
Alex Busato, age 10
Southwest PA

Chinese Mantid eats Carpenter Bee

Hi Alex,
Thanks for sending us your photos of a Chinese Mantid, Tenodera aridifolia sinensis, feeding on a Carpenter Bee. This is an excellent addition to our Food Chain section.