Sonoran carpenter bees in Hawaii


While visiting Hawaii I noticed a large black insect visiting flowers.  It caught my attention immediately because it truly was enormous; when it landed on a bloom the entire plant sagged noticeably.  It was two or three times the size of a bumble bee, except there were no yellow markings.  It was entirely black.  What could this bee-hemoth black insect bee?

Researching the internet, I discovered it was a species of carpenter bee native to the southwestern US.  A female will use an existing hole in wood, or create one independently, using their mandibles to lengthen and widen the cavity as needed.  There, in the chamber, she will deposit pollen mixed with nectar and lay an egg.  Sawdust from her excavations is used to seal the site off and another egg is laid ahead of it in similar fashion.  This is repeated until the entire chamber is filled and the entire structure sealed.  I found an excellent cross-section of such a broodery here.  

Another interesting thing I learned is that males are golden brown.  Although they do not possess a stinging apparatus, they help defend the site by patrolling it as they are somewhat territorial.  Males die soon after mating while a female may last up to three years.

Thanks for reading.

Eric Svendsen     www.ericspix.com


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