Xylocopa valga | |
---|---|
Carpenter-bee (Xylocopa valga) foraging Chinese wisteria (Wisteria sinensis) flowers. | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
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]
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]