Xylocopa valga

Xylocopa valga
Carpenter-bee (Xylocopa valga) foraging Chinese wisteria ( Wisteria sinensis ) flowers.
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Apidae
Genus:	Xylocopa
Species:	X. valga
Binomial name
Xylocopa valga Gerstaecker, 1872 [2]

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 species has become extinct in Latvia and Lithuania. ^[4]

Description

This 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]

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. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
3. Панфилов Д. В., Березин М. В. "ПЧЕЛА - ПЛОТНИК - Xylocopa valga Gerstaecker, 1872" (in Russian). Retrieved 2012-01-14.
4. He, Chunling; Zhu, Chaodong (2020-07-09). Ovadia, Ofer (ed.). "Nesting and foraging behavior of Xylocopa valga in the Ejina Oasis, China". PLOS ONE. 15 (7) e0235769. Bibcode:2020PLoSO..1535769H. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0235769 . ISSN   1932-6203. PMC   7347186 . PMID   32645055.