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Bees of Zihuatanejo

EPIFAMILY ANTHOPHILA

-Animals (Kingdom Animalia)

-Arthropods (Phylum Arthropoda)

-Hexapods (Subphylum Hexapoda)

-Insects (Class Insecta)

-Winged and Once-winged Insects (Subclass Pterygota)

-Ants, Bees, Wasps, and Sawflies (Order Hymenoptera)

-Narrow-waisted Wasps, Ants, and Bees (Suborder Apocrita)

-Ants, Bees, and Stinging Wasps (Infraorder Aculeata)

-Bees and Apoid Wasps (Superfamily Apoidea)

-Bees (Epifamily Anthophila)

-​Honey Bees, Bumble Bees, and Allies (Family Apidae)

-Carpenter Bees (Subfamily Xylocopinae)

-Large Carpenter Bees (Tribe Xylocopini)

-Large Carpenter Bees (Genus Xylocopa)

 -Gualán Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa gualanensis)


Xylocopa gualanensis typically has a robust black body, often exhibiting a slight metallic sheen. As a carpenter bee, it possesses a stout body and strong mandibles adapted for burrowing into wood. Gualán carpenter bees are known for their nesting behavior. They bore into soft or decayed wood, creating long, straight tunnels for their nests. The tunnels serve as brood chambers where the female lays her eggs.



Gualán Carpenter Bee

Xylocopa gualanensis

Range

  • Native to Mexico and Central America.

  • In Mexico, it occurs primarily along the Pacific slope, including Guerrero and the Zihuatanejo region, and extends south through Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama.

  • Most common in tropical lowland and foothill regions.

Habitat

  • Inhabits tropical dry forests, tropical semi-deciduous forests, woodland edges, secondary forests, orchards, gardens, coastal scrub, and agricultural areas.

  • Females nest by tunnelling into dead wood, bamboo, tree branches, fence posts, and other untreated timber.

  • Adults are frequently observed visiting flowering trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants.

Behaviour

  • Primarily solitary, with each female constructing and provisioning her own nest, although old nesting tunnels may be reused for several generations.

  • Active during the day, collecting pollen and nectar from a wide variety of flowering plants.

  • Males patrol flowering areas and nest sites, hovering to intercept rival males and potential mates.

  • Females excavate brood galleries in wood and partition the tunnel into individual brood cells using chewed wood fibres.

  • Generally non-aggressive; females sting only if handled, while males lack a sting.

Size

  • Body length: 20–28 mm (0.8–1.1 in)

  • Wingspan: 40–50 mm (1.6–2.0 in)

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