Xylocopa valga

Xylocopa valga
Carpenter-bee (Xylocopa valga) foraging Chinese wisteria (Wisteria sinensis) flowers.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Suborder: Apocrita
Superfamily: Apoidea
Family: Apidae
Subfamily: Xylocopinae
Genus: Xylocopa
Species: X. valga
Binomial name
Xylocopa valga
Gerstaecker, 1872[1]

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.[2] 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.[2]

X. valga on Chinese wisteria.

References

  1. "Xylocopa valga Gerstaecker 1872". Fauna Europaea. 21 June 2004. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
  2. 1 2 Панфилов Д. В., Березин М. В. "ПЧЕЛА - ПЛОТНИК - Xylocopa valga Gerstaecker, 1872" (in Russian). Retrieved 2012-01-14.
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