Xylocopa tenuiscapa

Xylocopa tenuiscapa
Xylocopa tenuiscapa (male, top) as depicted in Jardine's The Naturalist's Library
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Apidae
Genus:	Xylocopa
Subgenus:	Platynopoda
Species:	X. tenuiscapa
Binomial name
Xylocopa tenuiscapa Westwood, 1840
Synonyms
Xylocopa latreillei Lepeletier, 1841 Xylocopa viridipennisLepeletier, 1841 Xylocopa lativentrisBlanchard, 1844 Xylocopa albo-fasciataSichel, 1867 Xylocopa albofasciataSichel, 1867 Xylocopa tenuicornisAshmead, 1904 [1]

Xylocopa tenuiscapa, or the slender-scaped carpenter bee, ^[2] is a species of carpenter bee found only in South Asian and Southeast Asian countries.

Like most bees, X. tenuiscapa has a diurnal activity cycle, but in the Western Ghats of Southern India, the species flies in moonlit nights ^{[3] [4]} and has been observed as pollinator of nocturnally flowering trees. ^[5] Males of the species perch on exposed sites close to nests or in the landscape waiting for occasions to mate. ^[6]

References

1. "Xylocopa tenuiscapa - -- Discover Life". www.discoverlife.org.
2. "Observations: Slender-scaped Carpenter Bee". iNaturalist. Retrieved 2025-10-07.
3. Somanathan, Hema; Borges, Renee M.; Warrant, Eric J.; Kelber, Almut (2008). "Visual ecology of Indian carpenter bees I: Light intensities and flight activity". Journal of Comparative Physiology A. 194 (1): 97–107. doi:10.1007/s00359-007-0291-1. ISSN   0340-7594. PMID   18094978. S2CID   45202788.
4. Somanathan, Hema; Kelber, Almut; Borges, Renee M.; Wallén, Rita; Warrant, Eric J. (2009). "Visual ecology of Indian carpenter bees II: adaptations of eyes and ocelli to nocturnal and diurnal lifestyles". Journal of Comparative Physiology A. 195 (6): 571–583. doi:10.1007/s00359-009-0432-9. ISSN   0340-7594. PMID   19363615. S2CID   19392122.
5. Somanathan, Hema; Borges, Renee M. (2001). "Nocturnal Pollination by the Carpenter Bee Xylocopa tenuiscapa (Apidae) and the Effect of Floral Display on Fruit Set of Heterophragma quadriloculare (Bignoniaceae) in India". Biotropica. 33 (1): 78. doi:10.1646/0006-3606(2001)033[0078:npbtcb]2.0.co;2. ISSN   0006-3606.
6. Somanathan, Hema; Borges, Renee Maria; Warrant, Eric J.; Kelber, Almut (2017-01-20). Nieh, James C. (ed.). "Visual Adaptations for Mate Detection in the Male Carpenter Bee Xylocopa tenuiscapa". PLOS ONE. 12 (1) e0168452. Bibcode:2017PLoSO..1268452S. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0168452 . ISSN   1932-6203. PMC   5249068 . PMID   28107354.

Additional sources

• Animal Diversity Web
• ITIS Report

Further reading

• Ruggiero M. (project leader), Ascher J. et al. (2013). ITIS Bees: World Bee Checklist (version Sep 2009). In: Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life, 11 March 2013 (Roskov Y., Kunze T., Paglinawan L., Orrell T., Nicolson D., Culham A., Bailly N., Kirk P., Bourgoin T., Baillargeon G., Hernandez F., De Wever A., eds). Digital resource at www.catalogueoflife.org/col/. Species 2000: Reading, UK.
• John Ascher, Connal Eardley, Terry Griswold, Gabriel Melo, Andrew Polaszek, Michael Ruggiero, Paul Williams, Ken Walker, and Natapot Warrit.