Xylocopa valga

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Xylocopa valga
Xylocopa valga fem.jpg
Carpenter-bee (Xylocopa valga) foraging Chinese wisteria (Wisteria sinensis) flowers.

Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification edit
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Apidae
Genus: Xylocopa
Species:
X. valga
Binomial name
Xylocopa valga

Xylocopa valga is a species of carpenter bee common to: western, central and southern Europe, except for far northern latitudes; the Caucasus; Middle East; Central Asia; and Mongolia.[3] The solitary bee has a black and blue coloured body, 20–27 mm in length, and densely covered with purple hairs. The small wings also have a purple tint. The bee creates cavity nests by gnawing the wood in the trunks of dead trees and in old wooden structures. It inhabits both forests and urban areas.[3]

They have been observed pseudo-copulating on the petals of Iris paradoxa near Gosmaljan, Azerbaijan.[4]

X. valga on Chinese wisteria.

References[]

  1. ^ Terzo, M.; Nieto, A. (2013). "Xylocopa valga". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2013: e.T13325229A13325391.
  2. ^ "Xylocopa valga Gerstaecker 1872". Fauna Europaea. 21 June 2004. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
  3. ^ a b Панфилов Д. В., Березин М. В. "ПЧЕЛА - ПЛОТНИК - Xylocopa valga Gerstaecker, 1872" (in Russian). Retrieved 2012-01-14.
  4. ^ Vereecken, Nicolas J.; Wilson, Carol A.; Hötling, Susann; Schulz, Stefan; Banketov, Sergey A.; Mardulyn, Patrick (7 December 2012). "Pre-adaptations and the evolution of pollination by sexual deception: Cope's rule of specialization revisited". Proc. Biol. Sci. 279 (1748): 4786–4794. doi:10.1098/rspb.2012.1804.
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