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Xylocopa micans
Xylocopa micans, also known as the southern carpenter bee, is a species of bee within Xylocopa, the genus of carpenter bees. The southern carpenter bee can be found mainly in the coastal and gulf regions of the southeastern United States, as well as Mexico and Guatemala. Like all Xylocopa bees, X. micans excavates nests in woody plant material. However, unlike its sympatric species Xylocopa virginica, X. micans has not been found to construct nest galleries in structural timbers of building, making it less of an economic nuisance to humans. Carpenter bees have a wide range of mating strategies between different species. The southern carpenter bee exhibits a polymorphic mating strategy, with its preferred method of mating changing as the season progresses from early spring to mid summer. Like most bees in its genus, the southern carpenter bee is considered a solitary bee because it does not live in colonies.
The French entomologist and Hymenoptera specialist Amédée Louis Michel le Peletier first described Xylocopa micans in 1841. The genus name Xylocopa is derived from the Ancient Greek word xylokopos/ξῦλοκὀπος meaning "wood-worker", a reference to the bee's tendency to nest in wood. The species name micans comes from the Latin word for "shining", referring to the reflective quality of the bee's body. The common name for X. micans, the southern carpenter bee, refers to the distribution of the species in the southern United States. X. micans has been studied alongside X. virginica where they are sympatric in the state of Texas. Although the bees Xylocopa vidua, Xylocopa purpurea, and Xylocopa binotata were described separately, they are all synonyms of X. micans. X. micans belongs to the subgenus Schonnherria, which is a largely Neotropical lineage of carpenter bee species.
X. micans is a large carpenter bee, ranging between 15 and 19 millimetres (0.59 and 0.75 in) long and 8 and 9 millimetres (0.31 and 0.35 in) wide. The body of the bee is generally a metallic black and reflects light with blue or green tinges. The bees have a flat clypeus and relatively short mandibles in addition to a set of lateral ocelli set below the top of the head. Both males and females have short, dense pubescence on the head. Although the males and females of X. micans are largely monomorphic, they differ in the amount of hair covering their bodies. Females have sparse, dark pubescence on the scutum and scutellum, whereas males have scutum and scutellum that are densely, pubescent with bright-yellow coloring. Furthermore, whereas females have bare terga 1–4 and white tufts of hair from term 5 and 6, males have all terga 1 and 2 covered in yellow pubescence, and terga 3–6 with black pubescence.
Like other Xylocopa, X. micans creates nests by excavating in woody plant material, such as the dead wood of nearly any species. However, the nests of X. micans have rarely been observed in nature. Females use strong jaws to vibrate holes in wood, and then burrow to form a nest of roughly 8 mm in diameter, with several brood cells spaced along the length of the nest. The entire length of the nest is roughly 12 cm.
X. micans is found in several states in the southeastern United States, along the coast from southeastern Virginia to Florida, and west along the gulf to Texas. The bee can also be found further south in Mexico and as far south as Guatemala. The bee can be found only in the warmer months in certain regions such as the Lower Rio Grande Valley, but is generally found year-round elsewhere.
Specimens of X. micans have also been found moving as far north as Prairie County, Arkansas. The northward expansion may be reflective of range shifts of species predicted by climate change; similar impacts of climate change have been seen on the Edith's checkerspot butterfly. Conversely, since the specimens found in Arkansas were mainly co-located with Interstate 40, the range expansion could be caused by human activity; the southern carpenter bee could burrow into commercial lumber that could then be transported northward for several hundred miles.
All carpenter bees of the genus Xylocopa are solitary and therefore generally do not form colonies. Both males and females of X. micans overwinter in old nests as adults until the following spring; each generation lives for roughly one year. In early April the adults emerge from their nests for the mating season.
Nests are preferably recycled by bees, who prefer to avoid the energy-intensive activity of excavating a new nest. When necessary, females will excavate nests by boring a hole into a piece of wood, making a sharp orthogonal turn, and boring down to form a tunnel with several brood cells, moving one inch every six days. Each brood cell is provisioned with a ball composed of pollen and regurgitated nectar. On top of the food ball, the female will lay an egg, and then plug up the respective brood cell with wood pulp. After filling each of the brood cells in this manner, the female dies.
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Xylocopa micans
Xylocopa micans, also known as the southern carpenter bee, is a species of bee within Xylocopa, the genus of carpenter bees. The southern carpenter bee can be found mainly in the coastal and gulf regions of the southeastern United States, as well as Mexico and Guatemala. Like all Xylocopa bees, X. micans excavates nests in woody plant material. However, unlike its sympatric species Xylocopa virginica, X. micans has not been found to construct nest galleries in structural timbers of building, making it less of an economic nuisance to humans. Carpenter bees have a wide range of mating strategies between different species. The southern carpenter bee exhibits a polymorphic mating strategy, with its preferred method of mating changing as the season progresses from early spring to mid summer. Like most bees in its genus, the southern carpenter bee is considered a solitary bee because it does not live in colonies.
The French entomologist and Hymenoptera specialist Amédée Louis Michel le Peletier first described Xylocopa micans in 1841. The genus name Xylocopa is derived from the Ancient Greek word xylokopos/ξῦλοκὀπος meaning "wood-worker", a reference to the bee's tendency to nest in wood. The species name micans comes from the Latin word for "shining", referring to the reflective quality of the bee's body. The common name for X. micans, the southern carpenter bee, refers to the distribution of the species in the southern United States. X. micans has been studied alongside X. virginica where they are sympatric in the state of Texas. Although the bees Xylocopa vidua, Xylocopa purpurea, and Xylocopa binotata were described separately, they are all synonyms of X. micans. X. micans belongs to the subgenus Schonnherria, which is a largely Neotropical lineage of carpenter bee species.
X. micans is a large carpenter bee, ranging between 15 and 19 millimetres (0.59 and 0.75 in) long and 8 and 9 millimetres (0.31 and 0.35 in) wide. The body of the bee is generally a metallic black and reflects light with blue or green tinges. The bees have a flat clypeus and relatively short mandibles in addition to a set of lateral ocelli set below the top of the head. Both males and females have short, dense pubescence on the head. Although the males and females of X. micans are largely monomorphic, they differ in the amount of hair covering their bodies. Females have sparse, dark pubescence on the scutum and scutellum, whereas males have scutum and scutellum that are densely, pubescent with bright-yellow coloring. Furthermore, whereas females have bare terga 1–4 and white tufts of hair from term 5 and 6, males have all terga 1 and 2 covered in yellow pubescence, and terga 3–6 with black pubescence.
Like other Xylocopa, X. micans creates nests by excavating in woody plant material, such as the dead wood of nearly any species. However, the nests of X. micans have rarely been observed in nature. Females use strong jaws to vibrate holes in wood, and then burrow to form a nest of roughly 8 mm in diameter, with several brood cells spaced along the length of the nest. The entire length of the nest is roughly 12 cm.
X. micans is found in several states in the southeastern United States, along the coast from southeastern Virginia to Florida, and west along the gulf to Texas. The bee can also be found further south in Mexico and as far south as Guatemala. The bee can be found only in the warmer months in certain regions such as the Lower Rio Grande Valley, but is generally found year-round elsewhere.
Specimens of X. micans have also been found moving as far north as Prairie County, Arkansas. The northward expansion may be reflective of range shifts of species predicted by climate change; similar impacts of climate change have been seen on the Edith's checkerspot butterfly. Conversely, since the specimens found in Arkansas were mainly co-located with Interstate 40, the range expansion could be caused by human activity; the southern carpenter bee could burrow into commercial lumber that could then be transported northward for several hundred miles.
All carpenter bees of the genus Xylocopa are solitary and therefore generally do not form colonies. Both males and females of X. micans overwinter in old nests as adults until the following spring; each generation lives for roughly one year. In early April the adults emerge from their nests for the mating season.
Nests are preferably recycled by bees, who prefer to avoid the energy-intensive activity of excavating a new nest. When necessary, females will excavate nests by boring a hole into a piece of wood, making a sharp orthogonal turn, and boring down to form a tunnel with several brood cells, moving one inch every six days. Each brood cell is provisioned with a ball composed of pollen and regurgitated nectar. On top of the food ball, the female will lay an egg, and then plug up the respective brood cell with wood pulp. After filling each of the brood cells in this manner, the female dies.